Six-year-old slapped at school: MCD suspends teacher, principal in Delhi
The parents first went to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and a Medico-Legal Case (MLC) report was given to them on February 18. They filed a police complaint on February 20.
4 min read
The country's aspiration to become a “Vishwa Guru” (global teacher) and to develop an “inclusive and equitable quality of education for all” remains a policy rhetoric as the discrimination and distress faced by a diverse student body remain unaddressed. (File Photo)A week after a six-year-old boy’s parents lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police, alleging that his school teacher slapped him thrice — causing an internal ear bleed — the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken action.
On Wednesday, the civic body suspended both the teacher and the principal of the school for their alleged involvement in the incident and attempts to mislead the inquiry thereafter.
On February 22, The Indian Express reported that in its preliminary report to the Education Director, the school administration claimed the student was never on their rolls. The attendance register, however, showed that the six-year-old and his elder brother were officially admitted to the school on December 6, 2024.
According to the child’s parents, the alleged assault took place on February 12. The boy returned home from school that day with his ear bleeding, complaining of pain. Initially dismissing it as a minor issue, his parents sought medical help the following day when he began feeling nauseous and started vomiting. They took him to a hospital, where a Medico-Legal Case (MLC) report was issued on February 18. The parents filed a police complaint on February 20.
Police sources said that while the parents made a PCR call on February 13, they had not filed an official complaint then. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against the teacher under Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing harm) of the BNS and Section 75 (act of cruelty against a child) of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, according to DCP (Northeast) Ashish Mishra.
Although it has been 10 days since the incident, the child is yet to return to school. His mother said he has been complaining of unusual sensations (sansanahat) in his ear and is yet to fully recover.
The mother, who works in a factory, moved to Delhi two years ago with her two children to earn a living. Their father remained in Bihar; the woman said he was unemployed.
She claimed that shortly after she found work, her employer forced both her sons into child labour at the factory. The children were rescued by an NGO, which took legal action against the factory and enrolled them in school.
Recounting the events of February 12, the mother said, “When my son came home that day, he said he had gone to drink water from the cooler when the teacher slapped him thrice… We enrolled him here just two months ago. There have been several issues, but slapping a six-year-old is unacceptable. We tried contacting the principal and teachers, but no one responded.”
Education Director Sanjay Singh stated, “At first, the school’s response made us believe the child was not enrolled (there). Upon deeper inquiry, we discovered evidence confirming his enrollment and that he had indeed been slapped.”
He further revealed that both the suspended teacher and principal had admitted to their respective roles in the incident — one acknowledging the assault and the other admitting to tampering with records.
In a statement, the MCD said that it is committed to a zero-tolerance policy on manhandling students. “MCD has suspended the erring teacher and principal in the incident related to slapping a … student of the MCD school… Commissioner MCD has approved the suspension of the teacher and principal with immediate effect for manhandling the child,” it said.
The MCD has now handed the case over to its vigilance department for further investigation.
You May Like
