HYDERABAD: The death of a 5-year-old student at a private school at Ramanthapur in Hyderabad sparked a protest on Monday, with angry parents blaming corporal punishment meted out by one of the teachers for the death of the boy.
The kindergarten student, identified as Hemanth, hailed from Wanaparthy of Mahbubnagar district and was the son of daily wage labourers. Hemanth had been suffering from a fever for the past 10 days and had been absent from school. On Saturday, he returned to school, but later in the day, his parents received a call from the management saying that the fever had increased.
Hemanth’s parents rushed to the school and took him to a nearby private hospital. However, his condition deteriorated, and he succumbed to his illness on Monday.
Speculation arose that the boy may have been subjected to corporal punishment by one of the teachers for not completing his homework. As word spread, angry parents staged a protest outside the school premises, demanding answers. As the school was closed due to the Gandhi Jayanti holiday, the security informed the management who in turn telephoned the police.
Police officers reached the school but since there was no formal complaint by any side, could not take any action.
Meanwhile, Hemanth’s parents did not lodge a police complaint and returned to Wanaparthy to perform their son’s last rites.
A senior police officer confirmed that no complaint had been filed with the Uppal police regarding the incident.