On 2 July, a teacher allegedly thrashed a six-year-old student until he lost consciousness at a tuition centre in Patna, Bihar. The teacher has been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, attempt to murder, and wrongful restraint, among others – as well as Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, said a police officer from the Dhanarua police station in Patna.
A purported video of the incident surfaced on social media, which shows the teacher mercilessly beating the student with a stick, which quickly broke on impact. The teacher then began kicking and thrashing the student, who pleaded to stop.
The student became unconscious and was taken to a nearby hospital. He sustained minor injuries. The police officer told The Quint on Wednesday, "The incident took place at Daya Coaching Institute. A complaint had been filed by the student's parents, after which we started our investigation. The teacher, Chottu, was arrested last night."
The officer added that the FIR was lodged under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 322 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 ( criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act (anyone who assaults, abandons, abuses, exposes or wilfully neglects a child or causes or procures the child to be assaulted, abandoned, abused, exposed or neglected in a manner likely to cause such child unnecessary mental or physical suffering, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine of one lakh rupees or with both).
Meanwhile, the video of the incident has left netizens enraged. Here are a few reactions:
According to NDTV, the head of the coaching institute said that the teacher beat up the student because he had high blood pressure.
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