Nellore: Police booked a case against a teacher working in a madrasa for girls for branding three students with a hot rod at Kanigiri in Prakasam district on Saturday. The victims are aged between 10 and 15. The incident took place a week back, but came to light only when parents went to visit the children on Friday.
The teacher, S.K. Rasheeda, made two senior students carry out the branding using a spatula (Atlakada), an implement used for making dosa, on the hands, legs and the cheeks of students. The teacher forced seniors to put a liquid extracted from garlic into the eyes of one of the victims, Afsa and did not serve food to another student Reshma. Black marks can be seen around Afsa’s eyes
Police said the teacher targeted the victims due to a petty issue regarding repairs of the motor and water supply pipes. The injured are Shaik Afsa of Podili, Shabana of Vinukonda and Yashmin of Kandukur in Prakasam district.
There are 180 students at the madrasa and inmates are prohibited from talking to day scholars. The madrasa teaches only religion-related subjects and Arabic and Urdu, CI M. Subba Rao said. No one is allowed inside. Parents can meet the children only on Friday, which is a holiday, he added.
The incident took place on January 13 and parents came to know of this only on January 20 as they were advised not to come on the 13th as children were fasting on the day. “The children were so scared that only one of the injured revealed the matter to her parents. We had a tough time convincing the parents to file a complaint. Only one of them complained on Friday and others followed on Saturday,” the CI said.
He said one of the victims, belonging to Gonugunta in Markapuram mandal, is yet to approach them.
He said they have registered cases against the Rashida under IPC sections 326 A, 323, 324, 342 and 506 besides Juvenile Justice Act 75 pertaining to partial damage or deformity, causing burns or maims or disfigures or disables, wrongful confinement, threatening and thrashing .
