Student punished with 450 sit-ups for not completing homework; teacher booked

Thane, Jan 23: A private tuition teacher here in Maharashtra has been booked for allegedly asking an eight- year-old student to do '450 sit-ups' for not completing her homework, police said on Thursday.

The girl, studying in Class 3 at a school in Thane district, took ill after the incident on Friday and had to be admitted to a hospital, they said. Before this incident, the teacher, identified as Lata, last month also allegedly stripped the girl and beat her with a cane stick for not doing the homework, Naya Nagar police station sub-inspector Sohel Pathan said quoting the complaint filed by the child's mother.

On Friday, the teacher asked the girl, a resident of Shanti Nagar locality in Mira Road area, to do 450 sit-ups as punishment for not doing her homework, the official said. When the girl returned home from the tuition classes, her mother saw the child was unable to walk and found swelling in both her legs, he said. The girl was rushed to a hospital when she underwent treatment. Her mother filed the police complaint against the teacher on Saturday, the official said.

In the complaint, she also alleged that the child was stripped and beaten up with a cane stick by the teacher last month following which her legs developed swelling. At that time, the teacher appeared indifferent when the girl's mother questioned here, the police said.

Based on the complaint, the teacher has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. No arrest has been made so far, the official said, adding that a probe is underway in the case.