A few video clips of a government-run residential school in Chhattisgarh have gone viral on social media. They purportedly show a few students assaulting their juniors and chopping off their hair. Yesterday, March 16, the superintendent of the school, located in the state's Kabirdham district, was removed from his post.
Police registered a case against eight students, seven of who are minors. According to Kabirdham Additional Superintendent of Police Manisha Thakur, the alleged incident took place at Eklavya Model Residential School in Targegaon Jungle village under Bodla development block on March 11, and the videos surfaced on Tuesday, March 14, as mentioned in a report by PTI.
As the clip received widespread attention, the district administration also launched a probe. Kabirdham Collector Janmejay Mahobe constituted a team of district authorities for the purpose. "Based on preliminary findings, the superintendent of the residential school, Malikram Markam, has been removed from his post, while its principal, Pramod Prakash, has been issued a show-cause notice," a government official said.
A preliminary probe revealed students of Class XI allegedly assaulted, chopped off the hair of pupils of Class VI and recorded the act on a mobile phone, the official added. In one of the videos, a boy is seen slapping a junior pupil and chopping off his hair with a pair of scissors while several young kids are seen sitting on the floor watching the act, as per PTI.
