A class 10th Dalit student in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya, Nikhil Dohre, who was beaten to death by his school teacher from an upper-caste Hindu community, was beaten up by the accused teacher on 7 September after he made a mistake in an exam.
The fifteen-year-old student died during treatment. His health deteriorated after that and he was being treated in a hospital.
The Dalit boy was struck with a stick and a rod and kicked until he fell unconscious after he misspelled the word “social” in an exam, according to his father Raju Dohre’s complaint to the police.
An FIR was lodged against teacher Ashwini Singh at Acchalda police station and the accused is absconding.
In his complaint on September 24, Nikhil’s father, Raju Dohre alleged that the teacher is not cooperating in the treatment and using caste-indicative abusive words.
The Dalit family initially refused to cremate the boy’s body, demanding the teacher’s arrest.
Bhim Army members sat on a protest outside the school last night. The protest soon turned violent, with some people setting a police jeep on fire. They also allegedly threw stones at policemen. Police have arrested nine persons in connection with the protests.
The boy’s family finally agreed to take Nikhit’s body to their village for cremation after officials assured them of swift action.
“The case of government apathy and negligence on the death of a Dalit student due to beating by a teacher in Auraiya is gaining momentum. People are very angry due to lack of justice and proper action. The BSP demands that the government instead of hiding such serious cases should ensure effective action immediately,” BSP chief and former UP CM Mayawati said.
Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav demanded “appropriate action” in the case and compensation for the Dalit student’s family. “The news of the death of a student in Auraiya.. is not just sad, but also sensitive,” he said.
While condemning the incident, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at UP Police for failing to arrest the accused teacher. “This is not the first such incident. For how long, the government will continue to work with laxity rather than taking immediate action?” she said.
“We have talked to Etawah CMO to get the panel and video graph to know about the cause of death. Correspondence has also been done. Further action is in progress. Three teams have been formed to arrest the accused,” said Charu Nigam, Superintendent of Police Auraiya.
