School trustee’s wife faces FIR for ‘thrashing students for disturbing her sleep’

The wife of a Thane private school’s trustee allegedly beat up 10 children with a PVC pipe for “disturbing her sleep” on Wednesday. (Representational Image) 

The wife of a Thane private school’s trustee allegedly beat up 10 children with a PVC pipe for “disturbing her sleep” on Wednesday, supposedly causing sprains and hairline fractures to some of them that forced their parents to go to police. An FIR was lodged late on Thursday night, naming Shilpa Gautam, the wife of the trustee of Gautam Secondary School. Thane Nagar senior inspector Mandar Dharmadhikari said: “Some parents approached us after around 10 students from Class V to X of a private school on the Thane Station Road were beaten up.” He added: “The wife of the trustee is the accused.”

According to the police, the children were playing in a classroom on Wednesday evening. “The trustee’s wife, who lives on the school premises, was sleeping when the students were making noise. She lost her temper and beat up a few children, none of whom has suffered severe injuries,” an officer said.

However, the parents gave a different account. Speaking to The Indian Express, parent Bindu Jain said: “My daughter studies in Class IX and was waiting for dance practice after school Wednesday as they were asked to prepare for the school’s 50th anniversary. When they played the music, the wife of the trustee beat them up with a PVC pipe. Some of the children, including my daughter, have suffered fractures in their hands.”

The children had allegedly gone to the police station on Wednesday but were turned away and no complaint was registered. “We didn’t even know that they had gone to the police station. However, today we came with them,” Jain said later in the night.