8-yr-old beaten up by teacher fights for life

Doctors attending to Rohit at J J told Express Newsline that his condition was extremely critical. “Rohit has suffered from intense trauma and is in a state of shock. From whatever we have come to know from his family, it seems his injuries are about two months old, and there is some extreme internal damage,” a doctor said.

Rohit had given his pair of chappals to his classmate, Arjun, a resident of a neighbouring village on February 11. Arjun invited Rohit to his place the next day to collect the chappals.

While returning from Arjun’s place onFebruary 13, Rohit got lost on the highway. Some passers-by spotted him and as it was getting dark, took Rohit along with them to spend the night.

The next day, Rohit managed to reach home but was late to attend school. When he went to school on February 14, his enraged headmaster, Sanjiv Raghuvir Singh, beat him up with a cane. He was then locked up in a small classroom and allegedly beaten up for several hours with a large stick and a leather belt, till he became unconscious.

When Rohit did not reach home, his mother Latabai lodged a complaint with the Sangli police station. However, on February 16, a badly bruised Rahul limped back home and narrated his ordeal.

When he complained of severe pain, he was admitted to a local hospital in Sangli. But his condition became serious yesterday. “Rohit was barely able to talk and did not allow anyone of us to even touch him due to the severe ache,” Rohit’s brother Rahul said.

Following a complaint of assault filed against the headmaster, he was arrested bythe Sangli police on February 17, but he is at present out on bail.