AGRA: A Class VIII student of a school in UP was allegedly brutally assaulted and abused by the class teacher and a school official after the boy was blamed for a broken pipe. The 14-year-old, a Dalit, suffered injury marks on his back and limbs and “is now finding it difficult to walk”. He was also told by the accused to “stay away from the school”.The incident took place in Mainpuri’s Kurawali area on Friday. SHO Lalit Bhati of the local thana said on Sunday that an FIR under SC/ST Act has been registered against school committee member Rajeev Verma and class teacher Sukhbir Singh.In his statement, the boy said, “I was feeling thirsty, so I went to drink water and noticed that the pipe of the water tank was broken. I was blamed for breaking the pipe. I kept on pleading that I did not break the pipe, but nobody listened to me. I was beaten, abused with casteist slurs, and threatened with death if seen again on the school’s premises.”A police complaint was filed by his elder brother against the accused of the private school later that day in Kurawali. Police subsequently registered an FIR under BNS sections 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult designed to provoke breach of peace) and 351-3 (criminal intimidation) along with the SC/ST Act.The boy’s family claimed that the pipe was damaged by another boy and their son was unfairly targeted.Dismissing the allegations, school committee member Rajeev Verma told TOI: “This is a false case against me. I wasn’t even there. The class teacher could be present. I’m not aware. I’ll soon meet the police officers, and I hope there’ll be a fair probe.”
