A Class 7 student was allegedly subjected to corporal punishment at Kompally Government High School in Hyderabad on suspicion of tampering with other students’ bicycles. He was reportedly beaten up by
senior students on the purported instructions of the school principal, triggering widespread outrage.
The accused principal, Krishna, who also serves as the in-charge Mandal Education Officer (MEO) for Dundigal, is alleged to have ordered the assault, raising serious concerns as the role is meant to protect student welfare.
NDTV, citing officials, reported that the incident followed a minor dispute involving the alleged theft of bicycle parts and deflation of tyres at the school’s cycle stand. On Monday, a teacher identified as Madhu reportedly asked the victim to check the cycle stand. As the student was doing what his teacher asked him to do, another faculty member, identified as Chary, spotted him and allegedly assumed he was responsible for tampering with the bicycles. The minor was then taken to the headmaster’s office.
Instead of holding a proper inquiry, the principal allegedly summoned nine Class 10 students and instructed them to hit him on his back with a stick as a form of punishment.
When the child returned home after the brutal assault, he informed his parents about the incident. His father, Shiva Ramakrishna, noticed visible injury marks and immediately took him to a hospital. The victim was undergoing medical treatment due to the injuries.
Following a complaint by his father, police registered a case and launched an investigation into the roles of the principal and the two teachers involved.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups have condemned the incident, calling it a blatant violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which bans physical punishment and mental harassment of students. Parents and local activists have demanded the principal’s immediate suspension from both his positions as headmaster and MEO.
A case has been registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing injury.
