Geetha Rani, a headmistress (HM) who absconded after she was booked for forcing school students belonging to Dalit communities to clean the toilets, was arrested by Erode police on Saturday, December 3. Geetha Rani, HM of Palakkarai panchayat union primary school in Perundurai forced the students from Thoppupalayam village to clean the toilets in the school for one year.
The incident came to light after a student fell sick and was diagnosed with dengue on November 21. A 10-year-old kid was admitted to the Erode Government Medical College in Perundurai where his blood sample was tested. Test results showed that he was dengue positive. “Dengue is prevalent in unhygienic places only. While trying to ascertain how he got dengue he told us that he was asked to clean the toilets in the school and was bitten by mosquitoes while cleaning a water tank inside the toilet on November 18,” said Krishnamoorthy, the kid’s uncle. The investigation revealed the HM forced students as young as seven years to clean the toilets regularly. Six students in various classes belonging to the Dalit community were asked to clean the two toilets inside the school premises. While one of them is used by students and other was meant for teachers.
"My nephew cleaned the toilets for many months and we didn't know that he was going through this. It is totally unacceptable since it was the HM who asked the students to clean the toilets. She targeted the students from our community only to clean the toilets using bleaching powder. The kids are having blisters in their bodies as they were tasked with cleaning the water tanks and toilets for almost a year," said Krishnamoorthy.
After Krishnamoorthy’s nephew was discharged from the hospital on November 27, his family members asked the students whether any of them were forced to clean the toilets by the HM. Many students told them that they too had experienced this. The parents then called the child helpline number 1098 and the complaint was registered with the Erode Child Welfare unit who conducted an inquiry at the school.
"Parents don't realise how sensitive this is. Two weeks ago, one of the parents went to the school to warn the HM but didn't lodge a complaint against her," Krishnamoorthy said.
When TNM asked Erode Superintendent of Police V Sasi Mohan about the headmistress, he said, "She is from Kanyakumari district and her service records show that she is from a backward caste. She claims that she belongs to Ezhava community. We have asked the district authorities to furnish her community record."
Reports said the issue was taken up with the District Collector Krishnanunni who ordered the School Education Department to conduct an inquiry. District Educational Officer Devichandra and deputy educational officer Dhanabakkiyam conducted an inquiry on December 1 and concluded that Geetha forced six students belonging to the Dalit community to clean the toilets. Geetha who didn't cooperate with the inquiry was later suspended.
Jayanti, the 10-year-old boy’s mother, lodged a complaint against Geetha at Perundurai police station on November 30. According to the FIR, Geetha Rani asked his son, four students from Grade IV and one student from Grade III to clean the toilets every day. They have blisters on their hands and toes.
Geetha was booked under IPC 284 (Negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance), section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and sections 3(1)(r) (intentional insult or intimidation with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within ‘public view’) and 3(1)(j) (Making a member of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes do manual scavenging or employing him for such purpose)of the Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act 2015 on November 30. Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act that deals with punishment for causing unnecessary mental or physical suffering for children attracts imprisonment up to three years or a fine of Rs one lakh or both. She was on the run after a complaint was lodged against her and police formed special teams to nab her.
Recently several incidents of caste discrimination were reported from educational institutions. In October, students from Government High School, Perapatti in Virudhunagar district alleged that teachers including the headmistress were abusing the students by using caste expletives and forcing the students to clean the toilets. Tamil Nadu School Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, told IANS that they have already sought a report from the Chief Educational Officer, "and if the allegations are found true, stringent action will be taken against those indulging in such activities".
On September 17, a video of a shopkeeper in Panchakulam near Sankarankoil in Tenkasi denying snacks to school children belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) went viral on social media. The video showed the shopkeeper, Maheshwaran, using casteist slurs against the school children and asking them not to come back to the shop. The shop was sealed by the district administration officials shortly after the video was released on social media. The Karivalamvanthanallur police arrested Maheshwaran and another man, Ramachandran alias Murthy, in connection with the case.