NHRC notice to Delhi govt, police chief over thrashing of student

New Delhi, August 18

The NHRC has issued notice to the Delhi Government and the city’s police chief over a student being hospitalised days after he was allegedly beaten up by a teacher at his school, officials said on Friday.

In a statement, the commission has observed that despite several legislations, the incidents of corporal punishment continue with impunity, which is a “cause for concern”.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it has “taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that a student of a government school in Delhi had to be hospitalised after a severe beating by his teacher”.

His parents have registered an FIR in the matter. However, no arrest was made by the police, it said.

The Class VI student of a government school in northeast Delhi’s Tukmirpur area was hospitalised days after he was allegedly slapped by a teacher over forgetting to bring his Hindi textbook, the police said on Thursday.

On Saturday, police received information from GTB Hospital that a 12-year-old boy had been admitted after he was beaten up by his schoolteacher on August 7, a senior police officer said.

The NHRC said the contents of the media report, if true, amount to a violation of human rights.

Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi, and the commissioner of police seeking a detailed report within four weeks.

The report should also include the action taken against the teacher responsible, the status of the FIR registered in the matter, the health status of the victim student and compensation, if any, paid to the aggrieved family. The commission would also like to know about the steps taken/ proposed to be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur, it said.

Issuing the notices, the commission has noted that the National Policy for Children 2013 states that in education, the state shall ensure that no child is subjected to any physical punishment or mental harassment and to promote positive engagement to impart discipline so as to provide children with a good learning experience. — PTI

Punished for not bringing book

• The father of the class VI student alleged the teacher had slapped the boy and wrenched his neck on Aug 7
• The boy had forgotten to bring his Hindi textbook to school
• The student didn’t inform the parents about the incident
• The next day when a swelling was visible, the family members enquired and came to know about the assault