A three-member education department committee is investigating allegations that the principal of a private school in Nagda, Ujjain district, beat a Class 9 student with a thorny stick and kicked him over incomplete homework.
The complaint was filed by the student’s parent against Bharat Commerce School principal KB Gupta at Birlagram police station on Friday. The alleged incident took place on November 12, and a video of the punishment has since circulated on social media, according to the report.
In the complaint, the parent alleged that his son was first beaten on the hands with a thorny stick and was then subjected to further physical punishment before being kicked from behind. The parent said the boy experienced severe pain after the incident.
The complaint also alleged that when the parent met the principal, he was told to take admission elsewhere if the school did not suit the family. The parent said he would no longer send his children to the school.
Police said the principal would be summoned for questioning. Birlagram police station SHO Jitendra Patidar said Gupta’s statement would be recorded before further action was taken. The police response is separate from the education department’s administrative inquiry into the allegations.
District Education Officer Mahendra Khatri said he learnt about the matter through media reports and formed a committee to establish what happened. The committee includes the Block Education Officer, the Block Resource Coordinator and a cluster principal.
Khatri said further action would be taken after the inquiry established the veracity of the allegations. The committee’s findings and any subsequent administrative action had not been reported at the time of publication.
Gupta told reporters that his objective had always been to provide students with quality education, good values and proper guidance. He said he had worked in the interests of students and apologised if any of his actions, conduct or decisions had caused hurt or disappointment to a student or parent, or if they were considered wrong.
The case places school-level disciplinary conduct under scrutiny because the allegations involve physical punishment by the head of an educational institution. The police inquiry and the education department’s investigation will determine the facts, the responsibility of those involved and the action that may follow.
The immediate next steps are the principal’s police questioning and the committee’s inquiry into the complaint and the video. Authorities are expected to decide on further action after the investigations establish the veracity of the allegations.
