3 govt school teachers booked for assaulting Dalit boy, placing scorpion in his pants in Shimla
Shimla (PTI): Three teachers of a government school in Shimla, including the headmaster, have been booked for repeatedly assaulting an eight-year-old Dalit boy and placing a scorpion in his pants, police said on Sunday.
In a police complaint, the father of the boy -- a Class 1 student of Government Primary School at Khaddapani area in Rohru sub-division of Shimla district -- accused headmaster Devendra and teachers Babu Ram and Kritika Thakur of frequently physically assaulting his son for almost a year.
The complainant said that continuous beating caused the child's ear to bleed and damaged his eardrum. He also said the teachers took his son to the school's toilet, where they placed a scorpion in his pants.
Following the complaint, police have registered a case under Sections 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 3(5) (criminal acts in furtherance of a common intent) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and for cruelty towards a child under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The teachers have also been charged under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act pertaining to forcibly removing clothes or similar acts derogatory to human dignity, and crime against a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
A communication is being sent to seniors for directions as to whether the investigation is to be conducted by a gazetted officer, police said.
According to the father, the teachers intimidated the boy telling him that if he complained at home, they would have him arrested.
He said that on October 30, the headmaster allegedly threatened to expel the child from the school. He said the complainant's family would face severe consequence if the matter was made public and threatened them saying, "We will burn you."
The boy's father was also warned not to lodge a police complaint or post about the incident on social media, or he would have to "wash his hands of life."
The complainant also alleged that Kritika Thakur's husband Nitish Thakur has been illegally teaching students at the school in her place for the last one year.
He also alleged caste-based discrimination by teachers at the school. Nepali and Harijan students were made to sit separately from Rajput students during meals, he said.
This is not the first incident of teachers assaulting students or caste discrimination in Rohru.
Last week, a teacher at Government Primary School in Gawana area of Rohru was suspended for beating a student with a prickly bush.
Earlier, a 12-year-old Dalit boy allegedly committed suicide at Limda village in Rohru after some upper caste women locked him up inside a cowshed for entering their house.
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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
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