<p>Terming the incident of forcing a student to drink urine ‘barbaric and condemnable’ the Bolepur sub-divisional court snubbed the police for booking the accused under bailable offense before granting bail to Uma Poddar.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Poddar, a school warden had allegedly forced a Class V student to drink her urine as a punishment for bedwetting.<br /><br />Additional District Judge Piyush Ghosh besides censoring the police ordered Poddar to bear the expenses of treatment of the student who has been sick since the incident.<br /><br />“Poddar was arrested on Monday morning following a complaint by the parents of Punita Mistri, a student of Visva-Bharati’s Patha Bhavan who was allegedly forced to drink her urine. As she was booked under bailable offences, she has been granted bail by the court,” Superintendent of Police (Birbhum), Rishikesh Meena explained to the media.<br /><br />Poddar was booked under several bailable sections including sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal “negligent and malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life” and carries a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment.<br /><br />The incident happened on Saturday evening when Poddar found Punita of bedwetting. <br />‘Why arrest parents?’<br /><br />After the girl told her mother about the ordeal, her parents and several other people stormed the hostel premises and allegedly manhandled Poddar, police said.<br /><br />The court, however, took a serious exception of the arrest of the student’s parents who allegedly created law and order problem and manhandled the warden.<br /><br />The incident evoked widespread criticism forcing the Visva-Bharati authority to constitute a four member committee to look into the allegations against Poddar but afterwards preferred to relieve her from her duties as a warden. <br /><br />“We have already constituted a four member fact finding committee which is looking into the matter. Moreover, the student was only asked to drink but she was never forced to drink it,” was the excuse given by Vice-Chancellor Sushanta Dutta Gupta.<br /><br />Meanwhile, public interest litigation has been filed before the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in the matter and demanding monetary compensation for the student. The petition also accuses the university of violating court guidelines against corporal punishment.<br /><br />The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has condemned the incident as “barbaric” and has sought a detailed report both from the University and the state government.</p>
<p>Terming the incident of forcing a student to drink urine ‘barbaric and condemnable’ the Bolepur sub-divisional court snubbed the police for booking the accused under bailable offense before granting bail to Uma Poddar.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Poddar, a school warden had allegedly forced a Class V student to drink her urine as a punishment for bedwetting.<br /><br />Additional District Judge Piyush Ghosh besides censoring the police ordered Poddar to bear the expenses of treatment of the student who has been sick since the incident.<br /><br />“Poddar was arrested on Monday morning following a complaint by the parents of Punita Mistri, a student of Visva-Bharati’s Patha Bhavan who was allegedly forced to drink her urine. As she was booked under bailable offences, she has been granted bail by the court,” Superintendent of Police (Birbhum), Rishikesh Meena explained to the media.<br /><br />Poddar was booked under several bailable sections including sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal “negligent and malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life” and carries a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment.<br /><br />The incident happened on Saturday evening when Poddar found Punita of bedwetting. <br />‘Why arrest parents?’<br /><br />After the girl told her mother about the ordeal, her parents and several other people stormed the hostel premises and allegedly manhandled Poddar, police said.<br /><br />The court, however, took a serious exception of the arrest of the student’s parents who allegedly created law and order problem and manhandled the warden.<br /><br />The incident evoked widespread criticism forcing the Visva-Bharati authority to constitute a four member committee to look into the allegations against Poddar but afterwards preferred to relieve her from her duties as a warden. <br /><br />“We have already constituted a four member fact finding committee which is looking into the matter. Moreover, the student was only asked to drink but she was never forced to drink it,” was the excuse given by Vice-Chancellor Sushanta Dutta Gupta.<br /><br />Meanwhile, public interest litigation has been filed before the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in the matter and demanding monetary compensation for the student. The petition also accuses the university of violating court guidelines against corporal punishment.<br /><br />The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has condemned the incident as “barbaric” and has sought a detailed report both from the University and the state government.</p>
