Police arrest principal for beating visually impaired boys in Andhra Pradesh

Two persons, including the principal of a school, who beat up a couple of visually challenged students for their alleged indiscipline, were arrested in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday.

Reportedly, the incident took place last Friday, but came to light only on Monday, when an unidentified person sent the mobile clipping showing the two men thrashing a boy mercilessly with a stick, to a couple of news channels down south.

The school principal, Srinivas, and the school correspondent, K.V. Rao, were thrashed by angry parents of the children studying at Greenfields Residential School for Visually Challenged Children when the news was aired and protests raged in front of the school by social activists and parents.

Reportedly, District Educational Officer, K.V. Srinivasulu Reddy, rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry. Later, on the basis of a complaint that was registered with the Sarpavaram area police station, the duo was arrested by Circle Inspector Sharat Rajkumar and his team.

"District Educational Officer K.V. Srinivasulu Reddy inquired at the spot where the incident took place and registered a complaint with us. Immediately, we came and arrested the school correspondent K.V. Rao and principal Srinivas for beating up the child. We have started the investigations," said Rajkumar.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, expressed grief and said it was a bad incident.

"I am feeling very bad about this. A very bad incident has happened. We are taking action," said Naidu.

Meanwhile, chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Kushal Singh, condemned such incidents and said corporal punishments are a violation to the rights of children.

"This is an unfortunate incident. From the starting, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has consistently taken the stand that corporal punishments violate the rights of children and cannot be accepted at any cost," said Singh.

This incident has triggered the questions of safety of visually impaired children studying at various boarding schools across the country.