'Assault' to differently-able child leads to arrest of three

Our Bureau

GUWAHATI/DIMORIA, April 19: ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ has no takers among modern educationists who are opposed to corporal punishment of any kind – caning, flogging or beating. An allegation of severe corporal punishment to a ten-year-old differently-able child hailing from Aruchal Pradesh by a teacher of Society for Health and Educatiol Development (SHED) campus at Sopur led to the arrest of three persons of the NGO today. There are allegations that the assault left the child with a broken arm, needing his admission to the hospital on Tuesday. The parents of the victim have sought an investigation into the matter demanding stern action against the guilty.     

Kamrup(M) DC M Angamuthu, who is also the president of the child security committee, made no delay to order an inquiry into the incident. Sopur Revenue Circle Officer Dr. Dhrubajyoti Hazarika visited the NGO at 11 am today. He thoroughly inquired into the documents of the NGO whether they have got permission legally or not. After the inquiry, the Circle Officer lodged an FIR at Sopur Police Station (SPR/LNO1/2000/250, dated 19-04-17). Acting on the FIR the police arrested mager Hiranya Saikia, Warden Santi Niketan Sing and Cook Kishan Kumar of the NGO. The district administration will take stern legal action against the NGO for inhuman behaviour on differently-able children at the institution, said Angamuthu in a statement today. According the parents of the boy hailing from Chepa in Aruchal Pradesh, they had to admit their mentally retarded son to the NGO on April 18. They also paid the fees.

According to the complaint lodged before the DC by the parents of the boy, in the me of training a teacher of the NGO resorted to assault the boy physically, leading to the fracture in one of his hands. The parents admitted their son to a hospital in the city soon.

SHED mager Hiranya Saikia, on the other hand, said: “The child was totally disabled, mentally. Soon after his parents left, he started to bite other inmates in the boarding. He soon entered the kitchen room, took a machete and started to hit himself on the head with its holder. We had to confine the boy in a room where he started to strike on the bed with his hands and legs. We had to inform his parents, and handed the boy over to them, along with the fees paid.” The local people said that it is a regular practice at the NGO to assault children physically in the me of training. The infrastructure of the NGO is also not good, they said.      

Top Headlines

No stories found.
Sentinel Assam
www.sentinelassam.com