Beating by teacher leaves 11-year-old boy partially paralysed

The left side of Prasanna Patil's face has been drooping since the beating

An 11-year-old boy was so badly thrashed by his teacher for not completing a drawing assignment that his face is partially paralysed and his eyesight, too, has been affected. The Pune-based Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (SSPMS) has terminated the teacher Sandeep Gade's services and the police have arrested him after the parents filed a police case. According to the child, Prasanna Patil's parents, the incident took place between November 1 and 3.

The agonising incident
Prasanna's father, Shailendra, a farmer and resident of Indapur, said, "On November 3, I came to pick up both my sons from the school hostel, when I noticed that Prasanna's face and hand were swollen. His face looked like it was paralysed, but I assumed it was because of some sporting activity and did not ask him about it. But, when we reached home, he got a fever."

Prasanna Patil

Prasanna's aunt Advocate Varsha Bhosale told mid-day, "The incident came to light when his mother noticed that the left side of his face was drooping and asked him about it. That's when he told her about the brutal beating by his drawing teacher." Bhosale said, "My brother took him to hospital, where they found a lot of red and blue marks on his shoulders and stomach, while the area under his arms was swollen."

She added, "The teacher had made Prasanna put his hands on a bench and then used his knuckles to beat him repeatedly on his head, slapped him several times and then pinched him continuously under his arms and on his stomach. The doctor has told us that Prasanna's veins have been affected by the beating and there is partial paralysis on his face. Prasanna's eyesight has been damaged, too. We want the teacher to be punished."

She added, "We demanded to see the CCTV footage of the incident from the school, but the authorities tried to fob us off saying that they would look into the matter once the school reopened. We insisted that the teacher be terminated as he has ruined our child's life. We have learned that he thrashes a lot of children at the school."

Officialspeak
Principal of Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School, Smita Patil, said, "We have terminated the teacher's services and will also will be constituting a committee to probe this teacher's actions. We have also informed the management about the incident." Inspector (Crime) Pramod Waghmare of Shivajinagar police station said, "We are investigating the case. The child is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Swargate and we are waiting the report. We have arrested the teacher."

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