Hyderabad: In a horrifying incident, a Dalit female student studying in St Andrews’ School located in Hyderabad was allegedly forced to strip naked as her teacher suspected the student of cheating in an exam.
Although the incident took place on September 23, 2021, it came to the limelight after the mother of the student spoke to The News Minute.
Speaking to the media, the mother revealed the details of the incident as narrated by her daughter.
She said that on September 23, her daughter who is a student of class 10 was writing a test. As she was menstruating, she used the restroom a couple of times. Reacting to it, the teacher not only accused the girl of cheating by going to the washroom frequently, but she also took the girl along with a sanitation worker (ayah) to the washroom and asked her to strip. The teacher forced her to remove her top.
Even after the teenager complied, the teacher was not convinced and asked her to take her pants off. This time around the girl refused to follow the instruction.
A day after the incident, the girl’s mother approached the police and file a complaint. Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The complaint was also filed with the school, the Telangana State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
Speaking to TNM, the mother alleged that it was not the first time, earlier too the teacher has harassed her daughter. She alleged that her daughter was targeted due to her caste.
The victim hailed from the Mala community.
The other side of the story
TNM quoted the school principal saying that the internal inquiry was conducted and none of the allegations was found true. The details of the inquiry were also submitted to investigating agencies.
The principal further said that routine checks happen during the examinations. However, nothing has happened as alleged by the mother, the principal said.
