The Hindu : Front Page : Corporal punishment kills Delhi schoolgirl

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Saturday, Apr 18, 2009
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Corporal punishment kills Delhi schoolgirl

Staff Reporter

Teacher of municipal school accused of extreme measures

— Photo: Special Arrangement

Outraged: Local residents gather outside the MCD Primary School in New Delhi on Friday after hearing about the death of Shanno following corporal punishment.

NEW DELHI: Eleven-year-old Shanno, who slipped into coma after her teacher made her stand in the hot sun crouching at school two days ago, died in a government hospital here on Friday.

The Class II student of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run school at Bawana was punished by teacher Manju allegedly after she failed to recite the full English alphabet string. After returning from school on Wednesday afternoon, she fell unconscious and was taken to the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital by her parents.

— Photo: Special Arrangement

A photograph of Shanno taken from her school identity card.

She was referred to the LNJP Hospital the following day after her condition deteriorated and she slipped into a coma. Shanno’s elder sister Sahina, who studies in the same school, said: “The teacher made her stand in a murga position for over two hours in the hot sun and even placed seven bricks on her back. When Shanno asked for water, the teacher kicked her. Her head hit a wall, she began to bleed from the nose.”

Demanding exemplary punishment for the teacher, Shanno’s father Ayub Khan, a restaurant waiter, said: “I have lost my daughter. Nothing can bring her back. But I want justice for her…”

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