Outrage over beating of blind kids

Footage of caning of students goes viral

The footage of a huge bespectacled correspondent of a blind school thrashing three visually challenged children with a stick and the principal pushing them towards their punisher has gone viral on all Telugu TV channels, causing outrage among parents and the public alike.

The incident, recorded on a mobile phone at the Green Field Blind School in Timmavaram in Kakinada (East Godavari district) — 400 km from here — said to have happened on July 18 at the school premises, according to the police.

Srinivas, Principal of the school and a low vision person himself, took blind students Sai, Surendra and Joseph — who were between six to nine years- to the Correspondent’s room to complain about their mischievous activities.

Blind hit

The Correspondent, KV Rao, a former government employee and a blind person, started to thrash them even as the children, wearing half trousers and shirts, stood not knowing where the blows came from.

“Sir please sit Kottvaddu sir, malli tappu cheyyanu sir (Sir don’t beat me sir, I will never repeat the mistake),” the youngest one among them was seen pleading on the video that has gone viral.

The Correspondent was seen slamming the kid on the floor and sitting on him by his knees before going ahead with the thrashing.  Meanwhile, the school principal was seen helping him by pushing the boys closer.

As the Correspondent asked if they were close by and if their front or back was facing the stick, the boys answered even as they received the blows. Despite the bad audio quality of the recording, the boys’ cries could be heard clearly.

When one of the boys hugged his feet and held his stick to stop the blows, the Correspondent was seen banging the boy’s head on a cement cupboard and continued to thrash him.

The footage, allegedly recorded by a school insider, was first aired in Sakshi Television and was later picked up by Telugu and national channels.

Police and parents reached the private blind school as news of the incident started to spread.

The district administration sent the boys for treatment to a private hospital on Monday, three days after the incident, while angry parents entered the school and attacked the Principal and Correspondent.