Special needs child thrashed by teacher for ‘disobeying’ her: Delhi Police to record statement

Police said that a five-year-old differently abled child, who was assaulted by a special education teacher at his school in Greater Kailash II, told them that he was “disobeying” his teacher’s orders during the incident. A special translator will be roped in to record the boy’s statement, police said, adding that he was counselled.

The teacher was suspended and booked for the incident, wherein she tied the student to a chair, taped his mouth and thrashed him on the premises of Balwantrat Mehta Vidya Bhawan. Police on Monday said the teacher had not been detained since she was not feeling well and could not be called for interrogation.

A senior police officer said, “The child told us he was walking around the class when the teacher got angry. The teacher complained that the boy was troubling her and not listening to her. She then taped his hands and mouth and beat him up in front of other students. We found that the child later met another teacher and complained about the accused teacher. The second teacher then informed the principal, who got the CCTVs checked.”

Investigators said they are analysing the CCTV footage.

Meanwhile, the school principal said on Sunday that the CCTVs showed the accused “inflicting corporal punishment” on a child with special needs (CWSN) in front of the entire classroom. The school has more than 300 students with special needs.

“The school... is known for giving CWSN special care, attention and affection. The behaviour of the special education teacher was unacceptable and beyond our imagination. The act of teacher is also in violation of Section 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Directorate of Education, and various circulars of school management. The principal decided to remove her from academic duty immediately and she was sent on mandatory leave within a few hours. The local police officials were also informed,” the school said.