Punjab Police- Representational Pic
A Class 8 Dalit student attempted suicide in Punjab's Jalandhar after he was allegedly tricked into drinking urine by his classmates and his teacher slapped him for complaining about it, police said on Wednesday.
The teacher, Shriki Sharma, has been booked on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting and using casteist slurs against the 12-year-old boy. The student is hospitalised with multiple fractures after he jumped from the roof of his house following the incident in a private school last Friday, a police officer said.
According to his mother's complaint, some of the boy's classmates allegedly urinated in his water bottle and ridiculed him after he drank it. When he complained to his class teacher, Sharma allegedly slapped and rebuked him, and took him to the principal.
The boy's mother was called to the school where she was insulted and casteist remarks were made against her son, the complaint added.
A case has been registered against Sharma under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code and under various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the officer said.
The state scheduled castes commission has taken cognisance of the matter. Its member, Raj Kumar Hans, visited the school and the boy's family, and sought a report by August 29.
