Representative image of kids playing football.
Credit: iStock Photo
The superintendent of a missionary boarding school in Chhattisgarh's Pratappur allegedly subjected 45 students to starvation for two days as a "punishment" for damaging a football while playing.
The superintendent, Father Peter Sadom, has been suspended after a probe into the incident.
The incident came to light when videos of locals distributing biscuits to hungry children surfaced on social media, post which an immediate inquiry was ordered by the administration.
Officials of district administration and the education department that reached the hostel to inspect were told 45 students were "under punishment" for bursting a football, reported Times of India.
When the news spread around, angry parents and local residents confronted the school and hostel management.
As per the report, Father Sadom got furious when the ball burst, and told the students that they would "regret their mistake" and "they should suffer". The superintendent also defended his actions, adding that the allegations of the students being kept without food for two days were wrong, but said that they were denied two meals as "punishment".
“We provide everything for the kids, yet they break utensils and balls. They should learn to face the consequences for their wrongdoing. We did not provide them with two meals. The accusation of keeping them hungry for two days is incorrect.”
The boarding school is under the management of Bishop’s House, Ambikapur. The TOI report also stated that 141 students from economically weaker sections have been accommodated in a 21-seater hostel. Officials were allegedly shocked to see the living conditions in the hostel which barely had any space to walk.