UP: ‘Dalit’ student drinks water from teachers’ pitcher in Mahoba, thrashed

KANPUR: A teacher allegedly thrashed a ‘Dalit’ student for drinking water from a pitcher kept for teaching staff, in the Basic school of Chhikhara village in Mahoba district, on Saturday. Angry family members and villagers created ruckus outside the tehsil office.
SDM Jitendra Singh has ordered ABSA to probe the incident and submit a report. ABSA reached the school and recorded the statements of both sides.
Seema (name changed), a resident of Chhikhara village, is a student of class VII in a Basic School.She told that pitchers have been kept for teachers and students to drink water in the school. On Saturday, on finding the pitcher meant for students empty, she drank water from the pitcher of the teachers. On this, assistant teacher Kalyan Singh beat her up.
The girl reached home and told her parents about the incident.
On this, father Ramesh Kumar along with scores of villagers reached the school. It is alleged that even then the concerned teacher misbehaved with them by using casteist words. Angry over which, they then reached the tehsil and created a ruckus and demanded action. Taking the matter seriously, SDM sent ABSA Gaurav Shukla to the spot for investigation. ABSA said that the statements of the teacher and the student have been recorded in the school. The girl said that she had never been discriminated against before. Investigation is being done.
The investigation report will be handed over to the senior authorities. On the other hand, teacher Kalyan Singh said that the student was taking out water from the glass by putting her hand in the pitcher. "She was scolded for this and that he had not thrashed the student," Singh maintained.