A 11-year-old girl studying Class 5 in Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) primary school in Puzhuthivakkam has been admitted to the Kalaignar Centenary Superspeciality Hospital (KCSH) in Guindy as she continued to face headache and nausea, due to a suspected minor hemorrhage in the brain, after she was beaten up by her school headmistress K Indira Gandhi earlier this month for spilling ink.
The headmistress has since been suspended by GCC. A CT scan report from a private laboratory, which the girl’s parents shared with TNIE, suggested a thin subdural hematoma, a type of minor bleeding in the brain.
Sources in KCSH told TNIE that the girl was admitted there on Wednesday with a fever and an accumulation of blood in the brain. Though the girl is presently admitted at the intensive care unit in the neurology department of the hospital, the sources said she is conscious and stable.
The suspension order issued by the GCC said Indira Gandhi, during the inquiry, admitted to hitting the student with a ruler “for her own good” on October 9, which resulted in swelling in her hands and legs that subsided later.
However, the parents, citing what many of the girl’s classmates shared with them, alleged that the kid was beaten up with a stick to such an extent that it broke.
On the day of the incident, the girl’s mom noticed severe swelling in her hands and legs. She also told her parents that she had a headache as the teacher grabbed her hair. “When I called the headmistress that night, she admitted to beating her twice,” the girl’s father said.
The next day, the father, accompanied by their ward councillor, JK Manikandan from DMK, visited the school when several students told them what had happened.
“As we were talking to the headmistress, my daughter began experiencing a headache. We took her first to a nearby urban primary health centre and later got her admitted to a private hospital,” her father said. She was discharged three days later with a bill of around Rs 30,000, which Manikandan paid. But since the girl continued to experience nausea and headaches, she was taken to KCSH. The family has lost their daily earnings through work because of the hospitalisation. “I just want my child to recover,” Manikandan said.
After suspending Indira Gandhi, the GCC has also sent a circular to all the schools, reiterating that corporal punishment is strictly prohibited. “The district child protection officer and police are also inquiring into the incident. The girl’s condition is being closely monitored,” a GCC official said.
(With inputs from Sinduja Jane)
