Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Girl caned for speaking Telugu in school-ToI-9.3.12


Visakhapatnam: In yet another instance of corporal punishment, a class IV student was allegedly beaten mercilessly by the school principal for speaking in Telugu in school three days ago. The incident came to light on Thursday when her parents lodged a complaint at Kancharapalem police station against the principal, MSM Murthy. 
    Murthy was arrested and booked under section 324 of Indian Penal Code. The 10-year-old girl, S Pavani, who is a student of MSM Public School at Muralinagar, was left with rows of welts on her left hand. The girl was sent to King George Hospital for medical treatment.
 
    Pavani was called to the principal’s chambers on Tuesday after she was found conversing with her classmates in Telugu by the class leader. Murthy allegedly lashed her repeatedly on her left hand with a cane causing deep cut wounds which looked like blisters. The frightened girl told her mother Sujatha about the excruciating pain only on Thursday. Sujatha was shocked to see the bruises which the girl had been trying to cover up. The girl had suffered in silence for two days as she was threatened by the principal that she would be removed from the school if she ever told her parents about the incident. The girl told mediapersons that the principal had beaten her up mercilessly despite her pleas. “Pavani is in a state of shock and is too scared to go to school,” her father Poli Naidu, a mason, said. “The principal was arrogant and said Pavani had injured herself when we questioned him about the bruises,” he said. Naidu said he would not send his daughter to the school again.
 
    People’s organizations and parents staged protests in front of the school after the news came out. TDP leaders demanded that the government withdraw the recognition of the school immediately. Telugu language proponents said the school management’s action was evidence of disregard for Telugu and demanded stringent action against the school.

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