A minor student died allegedly after being hit on the head by his school teacher in the Roorkee area of Haridwar district in Uttarakhand, the police said on Wednesday.
9-year-old Ali was brutally beaten up by a teacher named Zishan when he was playing with schoolmates at Rehmaniya Inter College in the Bhagwanpur area in Roorkee on December 9.
“Ali was playing with other boys. They were making noises. The teacher probably got agitated and brutally beat him up. The teachers grabbed him by his hair and slammed his head into a table,” said Nasim, the grandfather of the victim boy.
He alleged that Ali was bleeding through his nose and ear when he came home. “We did not think it was a very serious injury. We took him to a clinic in Saharanpur (in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh). After initial treatment, the doctor referred my grandson to Chandigarh for further treatment,” said Nasim.
The class 3 student died during treatment at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh.
An FIR has been registered based on a complaint filed by the boy’s family members. The police have launched an investigation.
Swapn Kishore, superintendent of police (SP), Haridwar, said: “The police are investigating every aspect of the case. The matter is 4-5 days old, and the police station did not receive any complaint earlier. Since the matter is old, we must investigate every aspect because nothing is evident.”
The victim’s family has alleged that the accused teacher had threatened them against taking legal recourse. The family has demanded strict punishment for Zishan and action against the college.
Another family member said, “We are not afraid of his threats. These people are wrong if they think that because we are poor, they would do whatever they want. They are mistaken if they think they can silence us. We will fight against the teacher.”