A six-year-old Dalit child was allegedly forced to clean the toilet by some teachers and was later found locked in a classroom at a government primary school in the Jansath, Muzaffarnagar police reported on Wednesday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the student, a class one pupil, was found locked in the school classroom after school hours. According to the police, Principal Sandhya Jain and class teacher Ravita Rani were responsible for this oversight.
The child’s mother filed a police complaint, alleging that the teachers had a history of mistreating her son and forcing him to clean the school toilet because they harboured prejudice against Dalit children. She said that her son was locked in the classroom for more than an hour after the school closed for the day. When her son did not return home, she asked other students, but they were unaware of his whereabouts.
Upon arriving at the school, she found it closed and heard her son’s cries from inside. Villagers and family members called the principal, and eventually, teacher Ravita Rani’s husband arrived with the keys to unlock the classroom.
Rani’s husband suggested that the child might have fallen asleep in the class. However, the mother’s allegations point to a pattern of discrimination and neglect.
Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Sandeep Kumar informed PTI that Principal Sandhya Jain has been suspended, and teacher Ravita Rani has received an adverse entry in her service record. A probe has been ordered, with a two-member committee led by the block shiksha adhikari of Jansath and Shahpur tasked with investigating the incident and submitting a report within three days.
Kumar said that all school staff have been instructed to check classrooms thoroughly before closing the school.
Principal Jain defended herself, stating that the class teacher was responsible for the incident. “Even if the child was sleeping, the classroom should have been checked before locking it,” she said.
The police are currently investigating the matter.
