6-year-old Dalit child forced to clean toilet, later found locked in classroom of govt school in UP

Muzaffarnagar (UP): A six-year-old Dalit child, who was allegedly forced to clean the toilet by some teachers, was found locked in the classroom of a government primary school in the Jansath area, police said on Wednesday.

The Basic Education Department has taken action against the school's principal and a teacher.

The incident took place on Tuesday when a six-year-old student of class one was found locked in the school classroom, allegedly due to the laxity of Principal Sandhya Jain and class teacher Ravita Rani, police said.

A police complaint in this regard has been given by the child's mother in which she alleged that the two teachers used to force her son to clean the toilet as they had "hatred" against Dalit children.

She alleged that due to the negligence of the teachers, her son remained locked in the classroom for more than an hour after the school closed. When her son did not reach home after the closure of the school, she inquired about him with other students, who expressed ignorance, she added.

She said she found the school closed when she went there, and heard the cries of her child, after which the villagers and her family members called the principal. Later, teacher Ravita Rani's husband reached the school with the keys and opened it.

Rani's husband said the child might have fallen asleep in the class.

Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Sandeep Kumar told PTI that the principal has been suspended and teacher Rani has been given an adverse entry.

A probe has been ordered into the matter and a two-member committee led by the block shiksha adhikari, Jansath and Shahpur, will look into it and submit its report within three days.

Kumar said that all staff have been asked to check the classrooms before closing the school.

Principal Jain said that "injustice" was done with her as the class teacher was responsible for this. "Even if the child was sleeping, the classroom should have been checked before locking it," she said.

Police is probing the matter.