Patana: Five girl students of an upper primary (UP) school under this block in Keonjhar district sustained injuries after they were allegedly beaten up and locked up inside a classroom by their headmistress, Friday, sources informed Sunday. The incident has been reported from Government UP School at Chinamalipasi village under this block. Headmistress Nirupama Sahu even refused to allow the girls, all students of Class-VIII, to go to the toilet. Instead when the girls pleaded to be allowed to go to the toilet, she beat them up again with a stick while hurling casteist remarks. The matter came to the fore after the five girls refused to attend their classes, Saturday. The girls were identified as Lucy Mohanta, Lisa Mohanta and Puja Mohanta of Kumulabahalai village and Trishkati Naik and Mitali Naik of Chinamalipasi and Tandia Sahi villages respectively.
On being informed, the guardians demanded stringent action against the accused teacher. They visited the school Saturday to lodge a formal complaint, but the accused was absent The development has caught the attention of the Education department as the state government has completely banned corporal punishment in all schools. The incident occurred when the Sahu locked up the girls inside a room till around 2.00 pm, Friday. The assaulted girls initially kept mum about the incident when they reached their homes.
However, when they refused to go to school Saturday their parents thought that something was amiss. When the girls were questioned persistently they narrated their ordeal. Some of the guardians alleged Sunday that attempts are being made to suppress the matter. They have demanded district education officer(DEO) Purna Chandra Sethi and block education officer(BEO) Purna Chandra Amanat to take disciplinary action against the headmistress. When contacted, BEO Amanat said that the matter will be probed once a complaint is lodged. The accused headmistress however, has rejected the charges stating that she was on leave Saturday due to fever. She has assured that she will attend the school meeting Monday and the matter will be discussed in the presence of sarpanch.
