Dalit student abused, beaten by teacher for failing to bring textbook

Gurugram: A 14-year-old Dalit student was allegedly assaulted and insulted with casteist slurs by a teacher at a private school in the Gurugram district of Haryana.

The incident is from Joginder High School in the Sohna area. Kishanlal, a resident of Javed Colony, wrote in the police complaint that a teacher identified as Satish allegedly hit his son, Mohit, for not bringing the required Hindi textbook to class.

According to Kishanlal, Satish “pushed” Mohit, resulting in a head injury after impact with the bench. He said that his son already had health conditions, which he had informed the school about earlier. “After the beating, his condition worsened,” the complaint read.

The injured student was initially taken to a local hospital in Sohna. However, due to his underlying conditions, he was referred to a hospital in Gurugram.

The family alleged that the teacher, Satish, used derogatory, casteist and abusive language against Mohit and accused him of humiliating their child. They demanded strict action against the teacher.

The school officials told Dainik Bhaskar the matter was being “unnecessarily exaggerated.” Denying all accusations, the school operator, Tejpal Saini, insisted that no such assault had occurred inside the classrooms. “There was no beating by the teacher,” he added.

Meanwhile, the police have taken statements from both the teacher and the family.