A nine-year-old Dalit student died on Saturday after he was allegedly beaten up by a teacher of a private school for touching a drinking water pot. The accused teacher has been arrested by the police.
The brutal incident took place in Jalore, Rajasthan which has sparked outrage among the Dalit community, looking at the anger of the people, the administration has suspended the internet services in the district.
The student, Indra Meghwal, a student of the private school in Surana village, was beaten up on July 20 and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Saturday after 24 days.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has announced a Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family of the deceased boy. The CM has further announced to hand over the case to the case officer scheme for speedy investigation.
The accused teacher has been identified as Chail Singh (40), and police have charged him with murder and other sections, including under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The state education department has initiated an inquiry into the matter and asked two officials to probe the matter and submit a report to the block education officer.
Superintendent of Police of Jalore Harsh Vardhan Agarwalla said the boy was beaten up badly and added that the reason cited for it -- touching a drinking water pot -- is yet to be investigated.
"We have filed a case against the teacher, Chail Singh, under section 302 of the IPC and the SC/ST Act and have arrested him," the SP said.
The father said his boy suffered injuries in his face and ear and almost became unconscious. The boy was taken to the district hospital from there he was referred to a hospital in Udaipur.
Boy's father Devaram Meghwal said, “He remained admitted at the hospital in Udaipur for about a week, but seeing no improvement, we took him to Ahmedabad. However his condition did not improve even there and he finally succumbed on Saturday,"
In the meantime, the district collector has ordered to suspend the internet services till further orders and officials are camping in the village to monitor the situation.
