On Monday, R Bhaskaran, a school teacher in Nagapattinam noticed B Pavithra, a III grader not paying attention and wandering in class. Now, to bring the differently-abled Dalit back to her seat, the teacher threatened her with a knife and waved it dangerously close to her. The knife struck Pavithra’s left wrist, and the girl screamed which brought other teachers to the class.

Later, Bhaskaran took the girl privately and threatened her of dire consequences if she told her family. But, Pavithra narrated the incident to her mother Mythili. She lodged a police complaint and a case was registered against  Bhaskaran under IPC section 294B (obscene language), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons ) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation).

Following the same, Bhaskaran who has been a teacher in the Panchayat Union Middle School in Keezhaiyur near Sembanar Kovil for 15 years was arrested.  The teachers attended to her and the injuries were not serious, police said.

Pavithra’s father is working in Tiruppur, and her mother is a homemaker. Pavithra suffers from a condition called Ectrodactyly and lacks fingers in her limbs. The Chief Educational Officer K Gunasekaran said he would wait for a report from the school to take action.