The Sriperumpudur police have arrested two employees of a village fair themed park at Thandalam village near Sriperumpudur on charges of “voluntarily causing hurt” to schoolchildren who had come to the park on a field trip.
Inquiries reveal that a batch of 461 students from a school at Thirumazhisai came to Choki Dani, the entertainment park, on November 28 on a field trip with 22 teachers. After visiting the various entertainment concept units in the park, the children were allowed to eat their lunch brought by them at an air-conditioned hall as per the school package offered by the park management, while the teachers moved to a different building for a lunch offered by the park authorities.
In the absence of the teachers, the job of supervising the 461 children, aged between 8 and 10, was entrusted with two employees of the park. Quickly finishing their lunch, the children started moving out of the dining hall and the employees of the park were unable to control them. In the melee, some children fell on the open ground in front of the dining hall and sustained minor bruises, said the investigating officer.
Complaint preferred
On November 29, the school management preferred a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Tiruvallur, alleging that some of the children were beaten up by the park employees during the field visit.
Since the alleged incident took place at an area which comes under Kancheepuram Police District limits, the complaint was forwarded to the Sriperumpudur police station, where a case has been registered under Section 323 of IPC and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Two employees of the park were arrested, the investigating officer added.
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) too has said that they will be looking into the incident.
Meanwhile a senior police officer from Tiruvallur said they have written a letter to the Chief Educational officer and the Collector to take action against the school. “They should have first checked if the place provides the right atmosphere for children. Besides, it is reported that the teachers were not with the children when the incident happened as they had gone for a free lunch. This is unacceptable behaviour. Hence action should and will be taken against the school and teachers,” added the officer.
