Girls slapped by fellow students for failing to do homework in MP's Jhabua

INDORE: At least three girls of a school in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh were slapped by their fellow students as part of punishment given by a science teacher for failing to complete their homework.
The Jawahar Navodaya Residential School, situated in Thandla tehsil, described it as a ‘friendly punishment’ meted out by the fellow students as ‘teachers are not allowed to give corporal punishment.
Police is in a quandary on whether to book the teacher or the students and were in the process of discussing the matter with government lawyers to chalk out further course of action on a complaint lodged by father of one of the victims.
Shivpratap Singh had lodged a complaint with the Thandla police alleging that his 6th standard student Anushka was slapped by 14 students for six days after she failed to complete the science homework on January 11.
“Teacher Manoj Kumar Verma ordered each of the student to give two slaps to Anushka every day for six days from January 11,” Singh alleged in the complaint.
He claimed that his daughter fell ill following which she could not do the homework. But the slapping has caused the mental and physical trauma to her and she now is terrorized to go to school.
Thandla police station in-charge Sher Singh Baghel told TOI, “The school children have confirmed that the punishment was given to the victims. There were 2-3 students who were punished by Verma.”
The Thandla police were yet to register a case, but were investigating the matter. “The victim as sent for a medical examination. No injuries were reported,” he said.
Baghel was discussing the further course of action with government lawyers. “We are considering who could be made the accused -- the fellow students who acted on the instructions of the teacher or the teacher himself.”
He claimed that unlike Singh’s claim that Anushka was slapped for six days, the police, the investigating officer found that the incident took place once.
School principal K Sagar told reporters in Jhabua, “Teachers can’t themselves punish the students weak in studies, thus Verma made other students execute it. The fellow students did not hit the children hard… it was a friendly punishment aimed at sending the message across.”
Since a complaint has been made, the principal said we will be holding meetings with the parents to discuss the issue.