UP: Dalit student dies after thrashing by teacher in Auraiya, opposition parties demand action

Representative image. Pic/Istock

A 15-year-old Dalit boy has died days after he was thrashed by his schoolteacher here, prompting the opposition parties to target the Yogi Adityanath government while local residents staged a protest, officials said on Tuesday.

Nikhil Kumar, a class 10 student at a local inter-college on Phaphond Road in Achalda police station area, was allegedly thrashed by his social sciences teacher Ashwini Singh on September 7 for making mistakes in a test. He was admitted to a hospital where he died on Monday, the police said.

Amid uproar over the student's death, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati hit out at the government and demanded prompt action against the accused.

As news of his death spread, Bhim Army activists visited the boy's home and staged a protest. When his body was brought in an ambulance, local residents staged a protest in front of the school.

They also set a police vehicle on fire and damaged the car of the district magistrate, who had reached the spot to pacify the protesters, the police said, adding that additional forces had to be called in to control the demonstrators.

The situation was finally brought under control after Superintendent of Police (SP) Charu Nigam reached the spot.

Inspector General of Police Prashant Kumar also reached the spot and took stock of the situation, the police said, adding that action would be initiated against those who created the ruckus.

The deceased's father Raju Dohre alleged that the teacher hit his son with sticks and kicked him so badly that he fainted in school.

When the family members rushed to the school, they were threatened at first. However, when the boy's condition worsened, the teacher took him to Etawah from where he was referred to Saifai PGI (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science), Dohre added.

Nigam said the teacher escaped as news of the student's death became public and raids were being carried out to arrest him. He added that the test copies had been kept in a cupboard in the inter-college and the key was with the accused teacher.

The room has been sealed, the SP said, adding that preliminary inquiry suggested that the student had blackened two to three squares of the OMR sheet instead of one and had also made a spelling mistake, infuriating the teacher.

District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Srivastava has met with the parents of the victim and assured action.

The principal of the inter-college said he had been on leave since September 5 and came on Tuesday after he was informed about the incident. District Inspector of Schools Chandrashekhar Malviya said the school manager had been ordered to suspend the accused teacher.

Bidhuna Circle Officer Mahendra Pratap Singh said the family had agreed to cremate the student after talking to senior district officers and were taking the body for his last rites.

Action against the teacher had been initiated under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and related sections, including SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, he added.

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The opposition parties accused the state government of being negligent in dealing with the matter. They demanded immediate action against the accused and compensation for the victim's family.

"The news of the death of a student in Auraiya after being beaten up by a teacher is not only sad but also very sensitive. The government should take appropriate action and also give compensation to the victim's family. Education gives life not take it," the SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.

In another tweet, the party's media cell said, "In Auriaya, a Dalit student was beaten to death by a BJP-protected teacher of the same caste as Yogiji on caste discrimination. It's been 18 days, BJP workers have let the teacher flee. In this case, the teacher should be arrested immediately and the government should give Rs 50 lakhs compensation to the relatives of the deceased student."

BSP chief Mayawati tweeted, "The case of government apathy and negligence on the death of a Dalit student due to beating of a teacher in Auraiya is gaining momentum. People are very angry due to lack of justice and proper action. Instead of hiding such serious cases, the government should ensure effective action immediately, this is the demand of BSP."

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