Shamirpet Gurukul Students March to Police Station
The district administration and education department officials also met the students at the police station and assured them that corrective steps would be taken.
Hyderabad: Pushed to desperation, dozens of students from a BC Gurukul School in Shamirpet walked to the police station on Thursday, alleging that they were being forced to live in unsafe conditions, eat contaminated food, and were subjected to physical and verbal abuse from the hostel staff. The students said they approached the police as a “last resort”.
Inside the station, the minors described how food served to them was “not good at all”. “For the past three years, the hostel has been serving us rice containing worms. When we questioned the hostel staff, they asked us to put the worms aside and eat the rest,” a student said, addressing the media.
Another added that stones frequently appeared in the food, and that afternoon meals were being served again at night, despite them getting spoiled. Students also said food and water tanks were never cleaned and were covered with algae.
They told police that they were living fearing their lives as the school hostel’s building is in a dilapidated condition. “The plaster is peeling off and falling from the ceiling. The structure is so weak that if you knock on the door, the wall shakes or comes loose,” a student said. They also complained of broken bathroom doors and persistent water shortages.
The students described how tormenting the staff behaviour was. “They beat us with a PVC pipe whenever they want and abuse us in filthy language,” a student said. They also said that when they tried to raise their grievances, the warden “scolded and abused us instead of resolving anything.”
According to them, the principal allegedly threatened the students to close the hostel mess and leave if they continued to complain. The students told police that they wanted the education minister and intervene in the “hellish situation” they were living in.
Shamirpet police officials said they did not register a case, as the matter pertained to administrative lapses, but documented all complaints. “We wrote down each grievance and submitted the report to the district collector,” an official said. The collector is expected to conduct an inspection and initiate action against the school.
The district administration and education department officials also met the students at the police station and assured them that corrective steps would be taken.
