Chhatrapur: In a shocking turn of events, a class 9 student of the Government SC & ST Development High School in Humma under Ganjam block has accused the headmaster Ashok Kumar Padhi and other teachers of physical assault in the school premises.
The incident was reported to the ADM Sunil Kumar Kerketa here Monday by the student, accompanied by her aunt Rajani Behera, after she learnt about the incident.
According to the complainant 10th January, the boy, along with his friends were watching a dance video on a mobile phone, which they were purportedly going to perform in their annual function.
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Things, however, did not go well when the headmaster Padhi found them with the phone, interpreting them as watching obscene clips. This prompted the headmaster to summon the students to his chamber.
The interrogation turned out to be brutal, with Padhi allegedly assaulting the students using a bamboo stick.
There were visible bruises on the body of the boy, who demanded justice against the behaviour.
Further, the student alleged that Padhi locked him inside one of the rooms in the school premises.
After learning about the matter on 16th January, Rajani, the aunt of the complainant, who is also her local guardian residing in Rambha, took him for medical treatment from his hostel.
It is worth mentioning that both the parents of the student are physically challenged and are residents of Balugaon in Khurda district.
On the other hand, headmaster Padhi has denied all the allegations, labelling them false and baseless.
“We have banned mobile phones for students in the school premises, yet I found some of them using them during school hours.
I took the boys inside my chamber with the intention to warn them, telling them not to repeat the same in the future and also asked them to concentrate on their curriculum.
The allegations he brought up against the other teachers are not true and absolutely baseless”, Padhi claimed.
This incident, however, has triggered safety issues in the school and hostel premises.
Parents of other students and locals have demanded to ensure safety of the students.
They have also condemned the brutality of the school authorities.
They have further demanded a high-level enquiry into the matter by the district administration and the education department.
