Thane school trustee thrashes students for disturbing sleep, gets arrested
A Thane school trustee has been arrested on Friday for allegedly locking up and thrashing 50 students with a fiber rod for disturbing her sleep. The assault by 45-year-old trustee Shilpa Gautam has left 18 children injured and admitted to a hospital. Shilpa was booked under section 324 of the IPC at Thane Nagar police station but was granted bail a few hours later.
Trustee got angry at the sound of shifting of benches
The incident happened on Wednesday evening after school hours, when some students were shifting benches in a second-floor classroom to practise dance for an annual event, said reports. Shilpa, who resides on the first floor, allegedly got angry at the sound of the shifting of benches as it disturbed her sleep. Later she locked the students and thrashed them, even as 13 teachers watched.
The brutal assault left three students with wrist fractures
The incident came to light after 18 students along with their parents lodged a complaint against her, after which she was arrested and produced before the local magistrate's court. The brutal assault left three students with wrist fractures. Though she was later released on bail, an activist wrote to the education department demanding strict action against her for violating child safety and RTE laws.
The education department has sent notice to investigate the matter
Receiving the activist's letter, the department has sent a notice to the Thane zilla parishad education officer to investigate the matter and submit a report. However, the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said it will take up the case suo moto. An official said, "We will reach out to the parties involved, send out notices and schedule the case for hearing."
