A dance teacher in Idukki has been accused of beating up her 11-year-old student, tying her up and stuffing her mouth with a rag as punishment after she thought that the child was stealing from her.
The Class 6 student had been living with the dance teacher, Santha Menon, who runs a dance school at First Mile near Kumily in Idukki.
After Santha's daughter got married and moved out, Santha asked the girl’s mother, who used to work at one of her relatives’ home as a nurse, to let the girl stay with her. The girl used to live with her mother, her brother, a Class 4 student, and her grandparents at Kumily. Her father had left home some two years ago.
The girl started living with Santha six months ago and went to a school nearby. Recently, her father, who does not live with her family, gave her Rs 500 to buy a new school bag. However, on Tuesday, when the girl returned home, Santha noticed the new bag and accused the girl of stealing money from her to buy the bag.
She then allegedly beat up the girl and two days later, went to her school demanding that the child be expelled for stealing from her. The school authorities informed Child Line officials and alerted girl’s mother as well.
When the girl’s family members reached the dance teacher’s home on Thursday night, they allegedly found the girl strapped to a chair with her school bag, her hands tied at the back and a piece of cloth stuffed into her mouth They confronted Santha, who immediately fled the spot. The girl’s family freed her and rushed her to a hospital. She has been admitted to the Kumily primary health centre in Idukki.
In her statement to Child Line officials and the police, who were informed of the incident, the girl has stated that Santha forced her to do daily chores like bathing her pet dog, washing utensils and cleaning the floor every day. She also said that the teacher would beat her. Based on her statement, a case has been registered against Santha.
"We have recorded the statement of the girl and she told us that the teacher brutally beat her up,” a Child Line official said.
"We have registered a case against the teacher under sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means)of the IPC and Section 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act (Exploitation of a child employee). The girl's statement reveals that the dance teacher brutally attacked her. The teacher was absconding and the investigation is underway," Kumily SI Prasanth P Nair said.