'Fractured hands': Dalit student beaten with sticks over haircut in UP

MEERUT: Eight teachers of a prominent school in Bulandshahr, UP, were booked for severely beating a Class 12 student with sticks and hurling casteist slurs over his haircut. The 17-year-old, a Dalit, returned home with head wounds which required stitches and fractures in both hands.
The incident took place on Jan 25 and the teachers, from another caste, were immediately suspended by the school authorities. The matter came to light on Friday after the victim's parents -- following an "initial compromise under pressure" -- were forced to file an FIR due to "repeated threats by the accused". The parents claimed the accused even tried to stop their son from appearing in his ongoing UP board exams, which began Feb-end.
"An FIR was registered under sections 191 (2) (rioting), 110 (culpable homicide), 115 (2), 117 (4) (voluntarily causing hurt) of BNS, and 3 (1) (2) SC/ST Act against Sonu Kumar, Vipin Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Manoj Kumar (I), Manoj Kumar (II), Yogesh Kumar, Yogendra and Prashant on March 5. Investigation is on and action will be taken accordingly. The student is in stable condition and appearing in his exams," circle officer Shobit Kumar said on Friday.
Principal of Saraswati Vidya Mandir School, Purshottam Sharma, said, "Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in a disciplined school like ours. Those teachers were suspended and we'll co-operate with the police in their investigation."
Narrating her son's ordeal, Maya Rani, from Bulandshahr's Dibai, said he had got a haircut in Jan, which the teachers objected to. She added: "He came home and told me that he was scolded by them, and the next day (Jan 25) he was mercilessly beaten with sticks in school. My son remained bedridden due to trauma and injuries for over a month and couldn't properly prepare for his boards."
She alleged that they were also forced to make a compromise. "But the accused teachers continued to threaten us and intimidate my son during his exams. Left with no other option, we approached the local cops with our complaint. We want them to be arrested..."