Jammu and Kashmir: Student thrashed by principal Hafiz and lecturer Farooq for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’

In a shocking piece of news from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua area, a minor student studying in a government school was allegedly beaten by a lecturer and Principal for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard. The incident is said to have occurred on Friday (25 August) in HSS Bani. 

Following the incident, a video of the minor victim, currently hospitalised, is going viral on social media. In the video, the minor student (class X) is seen narrating the incident. Explaining the reason why he is in the hospital, he states that his teacher Farooq, and the school principal brutally thrashed him for writing Jai Shri Ram on the blackboard. 

Later, on Saturday morning, his father admitted him to the hospital. 

This incident is deeply troubling.

A student in a Govt school was reportedly beaten by a teacher and Principal merely for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the board.

This behavior is utterly shameful and unacceptable. We need a strong investigation into this matter, and those… pic.twitter.com/mSdAqahVKE

— Mitta Vamsi Krishna (@MittaVamsiBJP) August 26, 2023

Speaking with OpIndia, Kathua Police stated that the incident took place on Friday, 25 August. The police confirmed that the minor schoolboy was beaten for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard. 

They added that they have filed an FIR in the case against two accused under Sections 323 (deals with punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 504(intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Additionally, they have charged the accused under Section 75 (provides for punishment, if any person having control of child, assaults, abandons, abuses or willfully neglects the child) of the Juvenile Justice Act. The accused have been identified as school Principal Mohammed Hafiz and lecturer Farooq Ahmed. 

Assuring swift action, the Police said that they will soon arrest both the accused in this case. “The FIR has mentioned lecturer Farooq as the accused who thrashed the victim for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the class blackboard. Principal Mohammed Hafiz has also been named in the FIR. They will soon be arrested,” the police official told OpIndia.

Subsequently, the Jammu and Kashmir government has formed a three-member high-level committee. This probe committee will be led by the Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bani. The other two members of the committee include the Deputy Chief Education Officer Kathua region and the principal of the government school HSS Kharote.

📢 Jammu & Kashmir govt forms high-level committee, led by SDM Bani, to investigate the distressing incident involving a student allegedly beaten by school Principal Mohammed Hafiz & Lecturer Farooq Ahmed for expressing ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Swift action needed to ensure justice.… pic.twitter.com/kff4svXzlX

— Tejinder Singh Sodhi 🇮🇳 (@TejinderSsodhi) August 26, 2023

The committee has been asked to submit the fact-finding report along with the specific comments that were made during the incident. They will have to submit the report in two days and have been asked to fix the responsibilities of all the culprits involved in this case. 

Apparently, a similar distressing news was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. As per a report by Times of India, a teacher of St Thomas School Kidwai Nagar allegedly thrashed two students of class 6 for raising the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Afterward, their parents lodged a complaint before the principal of the school.

Following the incident, an advocate named Praveen Fighter submitted a complaint to the registrar of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Anu Chaudhary. 

She took cognizance of the matter under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and section 17 of the RTE Act. As a result, NCPCR registrar Chaudhary wrote a letter to the district magistrate regarding the same. The commission has ordered to conduct an inquiry and inform the commission accordingly within ten days. 

According to the complainant Praveen, on the 25th of July, the accused Chandan Christi had thrashed two minor students (class 6) for chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. 

It is alleged that in spite of the complaint filed by the parents, the principal is favouring the accused teacher in this case. 

Meanwhile, the school district inspector in Kanpur told the district magistrate that Kiran Sachan, who is the principal of Government High School Patara, has been assigned the role of an investigator in a case involving a student being beaten. Sachan has been instructed to provide a report on the matter.

He said, as soon as she submits her report, appropriate action will be taken against the accused teacher.