A Class 3 student was allegedly beaten with firewood, tortured, and locked up in a room for three days at an ashram in Karnataka's Raichur for allegedly stealing a pen, his family alleged on Sunday.
The boy, Tarun Kumar, who was staying at the Ramakrishna Ashram in Raichur, was badly bruised by the in-charge, Venugopal, and his aides. A case has been registered against the accused.
“Two older boys and a teacher hit me. They hit me with firewood, and when it broke, they used a bat. They also caused cuts on my body. They took me to Yagdir to beg for alms at the railway station, but I didn't receive any money,” the boy narrated his ordeal.
Kumar said he was beaten up “all because of this one pen.”
The boy sustained multiple injuries, and his eyes were completely swollen in the attack. He has been hospitalised and is undergoing treatment.
According to the boy’s family, he was staying at the ashram due to their unfavourable financial situation. While playing, his classmates accused him of stealing a pen and reported the incident to the ashram authorities, who mercilessly thrashed the boy. The incident came to light when Tarun's mother visited the Ramakrishna Ashram.
“My son's name is Tarun Kumar. He is in Class 3. My other son, Arun Kumar, is in the 5th grade. I left both of them at the ashram. When I went to visit them, my elder son, Arun, informed me about how Tarun was attacked and how his face was bruised,” the mother said.
The mother denied the allegation that her son had stolen a pen, saying, “He just picked up a pen that had fallen and placed it elsewhere.”
“Another boy gave the teacher's pen to my son on Saturday since he didn't have one. When searching for the pen on Sunday, the teacher found it with my son, and this whole incident happened over a pen,” she said.
The mother also alleged that the child would become a thief in the future if he was not treated this way for “stealing the pen.”
“The teacher tortured my son so badly that people say my son has been reborn. The teacher hit my child with two belts, blindfolded him, and tied his hands. The teacher also caused cuts on his legs and hands and beat him until midnight,” the mother alleged.
Sudarshan, a child rights activist, said the boy has been rescued, and the matter has been raised with government authorities at the Women and Child Welfare Ministry. An FIR has been registered against the accused, he said.
