A seven-year-old school student allegedly lost eyesight on his left eye when one of his classmates hit him with a coconut broomstick reportedly on instruction from the class teacher of Seelnaickenpatti Government Middle School.
On Monday, the aggrieved parents Thanga Palam (35) and Pandiammal (28) brought their son Gajendran to the Madurai Collector Anshul Mishra to demand action against the class teacher, Bagiyalakshmi. Gajendran had his injured eye covered with a piece of cloth.
Thanga Palam, a differently abled person, and Pandiammal belonged to the Adi Dravidar community. Gajendran said, ”When I went to school on December 17, my classmate Vicky was seen cleaning the classroom. Immediately after class teacher Bagiyalakshmi noticed me, she asked me to clean the room. When I refused, she instructed Vicky to hit me on my eyes. Vicky immediately hit me,” he added. Pandiammal claimed that though the incident happened around 10 am, the school did not inform her. “They asked my son to sleep in the classroom and sent him home only at 4 pm after the school hours,” she said. “After reaching home, he cried and explained the incident. We rushed to the school and took up the issue with the principal. But, instead of conducting an inquiry with the class teacher, the principal threatened to complaint against us to the police,” said Thanga Palam.
“We are poor and depend on daily wages for our livelihood. We are scared of the police. We took our children to Aravind Eye Hospital at Usilampatti,” he said. Gajendran was later treated at hospital’s Madurai facility.