Principal Arrested After Father Complains About Fee and Beating
A case has been registered against the principal of St Thomas Senior Secondary School in Ludhiana's Brown Road area under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, following allegations that he beat a seven-year-old student repeatedly for months. The action came after the child's father, Bharat Bhushan, a resident of Field Ganj, filed multiple complaints with senior officials about excessive fee hikes and forced book purchases.
According to the police, the principal, identified only as Samuel, allegedly retaliated against the father's complaints by punishing his son, a Class II student. The father alleged that the principal forced the boy to sit in an empty room or at the reception for hours, and beat him without reason.
Father's Year-Long Battle Against School Management
Bharat Bhushan told the police that the school was not adhering to Education Department directives. Fee was being increased against norms, and parents were forced to buy books from a particular shop. "Being a parent, I decided to stand against the school management and lodged complaints with the Chief Minister, Education Minister, District Child Protection Officer and the DEO. Since no action was taken for the past over one year, I filed repeated complaints. Enraged over the same, the principal warned me to withdraw the complaints or face dire consequences," he alleged.
When Bhushan did not bow down to pressure, the principal started torturing his son. "He was not allowing my son to sit in the class. Most of the time, he forced my son to sit in an empty room for hours and sometimes at the reception without any reason. My son's study was getting affected. I also approached the principal and urged him to mend his ways but he did not listen and continued to harass the boy. He even used to beat my son without any reason," the complainant said.
Child Helpline Complaint Leads to Police Case
Bhushan eventually filed a complaint on the child helpline number 1098 and sent a written complaint to the District Child Protection Unit. The unit recently wrote to the Ludhiana police, recommending action against the principal. Acting on the recommendation, the police registered a case under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. The suspect is yet to be arrested.
