Hyderabad, November 16: A class V student of a private residential school at Hayathnagar was confined in a room on Monday and thrashed mercilessly by the principal, on allegations that the girl stole money from her room.
The principal allegedly disrobed the girl and beat her with a gas stove pipe. She was confined in a room for a day to ensure the brutal act does not come in the open. The girl managed to flee told her parents, who lodged a complaint with the Hayathnagar police. The principal, Vijaya Mani has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
10-year-old Md Shaba is studying in class V at the Douglas Memorial Residential School at Pedamberpet. Her father Md Shabeer Basha is an auto driver and mother Md Munni, a daily wage earner. They are residents of NTR Nagar at LB Nagar.
Alleging that Shaba stole Rs 1,500 from her house, Vijaya Mani, who resides in the school premises called the girl to her room and allegedly thrashed her with a gas stove pipe and also inflicted inflicted burns on her body. “She made be remove my clothes and thrashed me. She harassed me for a day,” the girl alleged before the police. Vijaya Mani confined Shaba in the house for a day, fearing she might tell other students and staff about the brutality, police said.
On Saturday, Shaba managed to flee from the principal’s room and informed her mother, Munni about the incident. Munni, who went to the school to seek a clarification, was chided away. As she did not got a proper reply from the principal, she lodged a police complaint on Sunday night.
“We have arrested Vijaya Mani and sent the girl for medical examination,” Hayathnagar police sub-inspector Murali Mohan said. Cases under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 342 (wrongful confinement) were registered against Vijaya Mani.
Police said Shaba admitted to have stolen the money. “Even if my daughter stole the money, she should have taken up the matter with us.
How can she beat up a small child so cruelly?” Munni told reporters.
Meanwhile, students alleged that Vijaya Mani used to force them to do all her household chores and ill-treat them.
Vijaya Mani refuted the allegations. “Huge amounts of money were getting stolen from my house. I only reprimanded Shaba for stealing the money and I never hit her,” Vijaya Mani said. She added that the girl suffered injuries in a clash with her fellow classmates.
–Agencies