Pune: Teacher suspended for hitting girl with ruler

A school teacher with a school in Pune has been suspended for allegedly beating up a seven-year-old girl for creating a ruckus in class. The incident took place on Wednesday morning at Rosary School. Samruddhi Siddharth Dongare, 7, and her classmates were making a lot of noise in class.

The mark on the child's hand

The teacher, Alefiya Sabuwalla, allegedly lost her cool and then thrashed some of the kids, including Samruddhi, with a steel ruler. Following the incident, Samruddhi, who was bruised badly, informed her parents about the incident. Initially, the girl's parents had approached the Bund Garden police station, and the police had directed the parents to take the child for a medical check-up at Sassoon General Hospital.

Speaking to mid-day, Vinay Arahana, owner of the Rosary School, confirmed that the teacher had been suspended. "After the parents brought the incident to our attention, we immediately suspended the teacher. We have a strict policy against corporal punishment."

Arahana said that the school had constituted a three-teacher committee, which will be probing the incident. "The committee will submit its report by Monday. Based on the report, we will decide whether to terminate the teacher."

When contacted, Samruddhi's father Siddharth said, "My daughter sustained several cut injuries. As a parent, I won't tolerate that."