Mumbai: Teacher beats up student for asking if he can drink water

In a brutal case of corporal punishment in schools, a Geography teacher allegedly beat up a Std VIII student. The reason? The 13-year-old had asked if he could drink water right after visiting the washroom. The incident took place at a school in Sion, and his parents allege that the teachers did not even provide him medical attention.

According to the parents, the teacher repeatedly hit their son, Kunal Sharma, on his back and neck. "He attacked my son with his elbow, despite Kunal pleading him to stop. He has abrasions on his neck, and his back was so severely injured that he was not able to walk when my wife had gone to pick him up from the school," said Rajendra Sharma, his father.

"When my wife reached the school, she found Kunal lying in the staff room. The teacher simply said it was our son's fault and walked away. Other teachers only complained about this teacher's habit of using the rod to discipline children, but didn't bother to check if Kunal was okay," added the parents.

Kunal was rushed to the nearby civic hospital, where he underwent an X-ray scan and was given painkillers. "He has suffered blunt trauma, but will not require hospitalisation. He will need bed rest for about a week before he is able to walk again without experiencing pain," informed the on-duty doctor at the casualty ward.

Kunal's parents have decided to approach the school's principal on Tuesday to complain against the teacher. "This is not the first time that teacher has beaten up a student black-and-blue. Other parents are afraid of speaking up against him, as they don't want their complaints to reflect adversely in their child's grades.

However, why shouldn't we speak up? Today, it was our child; tomorrow it might be someone else's. Corporal punishment should never be used on children to discipline them," added Rajendra.