The accused school teacher has been arrested following the death of a 13-year-old girl after she was allegedly forced to perform 100 sit-ups with her schoolbag on her back for arriving ten minutes late
to school in Maharashtra’s Vasai.
Senior Police Inspector Dilip Ghuge said that post-mortem examination has been completed and the report received. “Based on eyewitness statements, including those of schoolteachers and other students, an FIR has been registered and the teacher has been arrested,” he said as quoted by news agency ANI.
The investigation, he added, remains at an early stage. “If negligence on the part of the school administration is found, action will also be taken against them,” Ghuge said.
#WATCH | Vasai, Maharashtra: On the death of a 12-year-old student in Vasai, Senior Police Inspector Dilip Ghuge says, “On 8th November, a girl came to school 10 minutes late. The school teacher punished her and the other students who came late by making them do sit-ups… When… pic.twitter.com/ObBs6Ee2Oz
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2025
According to police, the incident occurred on November 8 when the student reached school about ten minutes late. The teacher allegedly punished her and other latecomers with sit-ups. According to the family, she returned home complaining of sharp pain from her neck down her back and told her mother she was feeling unwell. Her condition worsened through the evening.
She was initially taken to a local hospital for treatment and was subsequently shifted to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital on November 13.
The child died during treatment. Her parents told police they believe the physical punishment triggered the medical complications that led to her death.
According to the autopsy report, the girl was found to have been suffering from Anaemia. The preliminary cause-of-death report lists pulmonary oedema and splenomegaly (an enlarged spleen often linked with anaemia) as findings. A final opinion is pending chemical analysis of her organs.
Meanwhile, according to school officials, the administration was aware of the girl’s “poor health condition” and had advised her parents to seek medical attention. They say the teacher who administered the exercise did not realise that the girl was part of the group, because of her shorter height. The principal said the teacher has been suspended while the school cooperates with the investigation.
