Boy thrashed by teacher; hunger strike planned

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The parents of a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly thrashed brutally by his sports teacher has stated that they would pursue the issue until they are granted justice. Joining their cause, the organisation ‘Madhuram Balyam’ has announced that it would launch a hunger strike in front of the Secretariat from June 24 onwards, if action was not forthcoming from the part of the State Government. Mithun Hari, a Class IX student at LMS High School, Amaravila, has complained to the police and the DEO that he was thrashed by his sports teacher Sanal on June 14. At a press conference here, Mithun showed the contusions on his upper thighs to the media. His parents and Madhuram Balyam director and social activist Philip M Prasad said that they would be taking up the issue with Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb. According to Mithun, the teacher had dragged him off to the staff room and beaten him there. He said that he was punished for lightly pushing a classmate who had gripped his left hand that had been put in a cast after he fractured it in two places. ‘’I did not cry when he beat me. So, he beat me again,’’ Mithun said. ‘’The wound certificate says that he has three contusions on his right thigh and two on his left. The Right to Education Act clearly bans meting out corporal punishment to students or even harassing them mentally,’’ said Philip M Prasad. Mithun’s mother Ambili S, a staff at the Neyyattinkara Municipality, and his father Hari A, who works at the Mariyapuram Post Office, initially  approached the DEO. ‘’But the authorities asked us to go to the school for a settlement. The school is offering us cash to settle the issue,’’ Ambili said. The Parassala Police have registered the case as crime number 582/2011. However, further action was not taken despite filing complaints with the school headmaster and the DEO. The parents also demanded that the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) should take steps to find admission for Mithun in some other school so that his education is not hindered. Philip M Prasad announced that he and Madhuram Balyam general secretary Sujatha Mohan would go on an indefinite fast in front of Secretariat if action was not taken on the issue by June 24. ‘’This is a more serious issue than the 2G Scam. You feed violence to children and you will get only violence in return. Usually, such incidents die out. But in Mithun’s case, his parents are bold,’’ he said.

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