[ Bengia Ajum ]
SEIJOSA, 11 Dec: In the wake of the report of children having been severely punished by a teacher of Acharyakulam – a primary school run by the Patajanli Ayurveda Pvt Ltd – here in Pakke-Kessang district, the Arunachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) has sought a report about the incident from the Pakke-Kessang SP within two weeks.
Taking suo moto cognisance of the case, the commission has requested the SP to also register a case against the culprit.
On Monday, Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) Member Secretary Khoda Rakhi visited Acharyakulam, along with ADC T Tapu, SDPO SC Norbu, and Child Welfare Committee member Nabam Petrus.
During the visit, the team interacted with the parents as well as the victim children. As per their initial findings, 20 students from Class 1-4 were subjected to physical abuse by the school in-charge, Sadhvi Devkriti, during class hours on the 7th of this month. Further, they were threatened with dire consequences if they reported about the incident to their parents.
Even though the children did not mention the incident, the parents noticed the injury marks on their wards, because of which the matter came to light.
The APSCPCR informed that the secretary-general of the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust has terminated the service of Sadhvi Devkriti with immediate effect.
However, the commission has sought her arrest.
“The issue does not resolve simply by termination of the service of the accused. She should be immediately arrested and booked under appropriate sections of law and awarded appropriate punishment,” the APSCPCR opined.
Further, the commission said that it has found that Acharyakulam has not yet been registered as per the mandatory norms of the RTE Act-2009, “but it has been running since 2019.”
“Therefore, strict action should be initiated by the education department against the school management of Acharyakulam, Seijosa, for violation of Section 17 (1) and 18 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act-2009, the commission added.
Members of the AAPSU and the All Pakke-Kessang District Students’ Union also visited the school. Both unions, while condemning the incident, sought strong action against the accused and the school.
A video of children with severe injury marks inflicted by the teacher surfaced on social media on Sunday, leading to massive outrage among the people of the state.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) has written a letter to the APSCPCR concerning the incident. Members of the APWWS’ Pakke-Kessang district unit also visited the school.
