Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): An incident involving the alleged assault of six Class 12 students has come to light at the Eklavya Model Residential School in Garadavad-Labrada, Dhar district.
The students alleged that senior students beat them with belts after they returned from an outing late Saturday night, while the school management has denied the assault allegations but has initiated an inquiry into the matter.
Vishal Dawar, one of the affected students, said that he and five companions left the hostel around 11:30 pm on Saturday to have a meal outside and returned around 2 am.
He alleged that on Sunday morning, senior Class 12 students assaulted six of them using belts, leaving injury marks on their backs.
School manager Amit Soni confirmed on Monday that the school had received a complaint regarding the assault and had launched an investigation.
He said that the six students had violated school rules by cutting the window mesh and scaling the wall to leave the hostel late at night.
Following this violation, the school issued Transfer Certificates (TCs) to all six students and dismissed them. The students accused of carrying out the assault have also been expelled.
Soni acknowledged that the incident exposed a lapse in security arrangements, though he maintained that the school and hostel enforce adequate security measures and monitor the entire campus through CCTV cameras.
Hostel Superintendent Sanjit Rathi rejected the assault allegations as baseless. He asserted that no student had been beaten and accused the students of making false claims.
He reiterated that the students had exited by cutting the window mesh and climbing the wall despite strict security measures being in place at the hostel.
Amid allegations of assault, disciplinary action against the students and questions over security lapses, school administration is continuing to investigate the matter.
The school assured that appropriate action will follow based on the findings.
