A nine-year-old boy in Chennai’s Vyasarpadi suffered fractures to his left hand after being allegedly beaten and pushed down the stairs by a teacher. The parents of the Class 4 boy also allege that the police at the Vyasarapadi police station harassed them when they went to lodge a complaint.
The incident happened on Thursday in the Corporation Primary School in Ganesapuram, Vyasarpadi near Chennai. The school authorities called Selvi*, the mother of Vignesh* on Thursday evening to inform her that her son was hurt.
On rushing to the school, Selvi saw Vignesh sitting outside the building clutching his hand and crying out of pain. When she asked why they had not taken him to a hospital, the authorities told her that they were waiting for her to come.
Speaking to TNM, Selvi said, “I then took him to a nearby government clinic. The doctor there asked me to come with an x-ray of my son’s hand. When the doctor asked my son about the incident, he said that a teacher had hit him and pushed him down the stairs. So, I went back to the school to shout at the headmaster.”
It was at that point that the school authorities allegedly made her sign on a white paper.
“They wanted me to sign a blank paper. I asked them the purpose and they said that the private hospital will ask for this and hence we have to submit this from the school if we have to take your son to the hospital. My son was the most important concern for me at that point and hence I had no other option but to sign,” she said.
After getting the x-ray done, it was found that there were three fractures in Vignesh’s left hand. After getting the hand plastered, Selvi went back to the school only to be told that she need not send her kids to school anymore. Her other children are studying in Class 3 and UKG in the same school.
“I went back to school from the hospital to know what really happened and they gave the transfer certificates (TC) of my kids and asked me not to send them to school anymore. They showed me the paper in which I had signed and told me that on my request only they are giving the TC,” she said.
Selvi then approached the Vyasarpadi police station (P3 police station) with a complaint to inquire into the incident.
“On Thursday I waited till around 12 am. They brought the teacher and the headmaster to the station and spoke with them in the room inside. I was waiting outside with my mother and son. After they went, the police started harassing us,” she said.
Selvi alleges that the officer there repeatedly asked her to withdraw the complaint and when she refused, he allegedly threatened to beat her up with the lathi.
She said, “I refused to withdraw my complaint. The police then got angry and said that he would put me in jail for prostitution. Since my mother, myself and my son were only there, I didn’t want to argue. So, I just went back home.”
Selvi returned to the police station on Friday but was told that the officers had gone to a meeting and to come on Saturday.
“On Saturday, I again went to the station. They then got me to sign on a paper. The headmaster was also present in the station that day. After some time, they just said that the complaint has been withdrawn and gave Rs 10,000 to me. When I refused to take the money, the police officer again threatened to put me in jail and forced me to take the money and go home,” she alleged.
Vignesh told TNM, “The teacher called me when the school got over on Thursday and asked me why I was not packed to go home yet. I told that I am packing now and she hit me and pushed me down the stairs.”
Speaking to TNM, Mohanraj, the Inspector of P3 police station in Vyasarpadi, however, said that Vignesh and another student were playing when he got hurt. “The family is lying. They came to us saying that the children were playing and then got hurt. We finished the inquiry and told them to go,” said Mohanraj. He refused to divulge any more details on the case.
The Deputy Commissioner (Education), Mageswari Ravikumar told TNM that an inquiry is being conducted on the incident.
“As per the information that I got, the students were fighting with each other and are said to have pushed each other. The injury happened because of that. However, we are conducting an inquiry regarding the issue and will take action according to its outcome.”