Boy (4) scratches car, loses eye after school teacher thrashes him in UP's Shahjahanpur

BAREILLY: A government school teacher in UP's Shahjahanpur allegedly slapped and thrashed a four-year-old boy so badly, for inadvertently scratching her car, that he soon lost vision in his left eye. Though the teacher assaulted the boy on January 27, police registered an FIR against her only on May 4.
The boy, Saurabh Kumar, had gone to his brother's school in Harseli village of Nigohi block and scratched the teacher's car unintentionally, the parents claimed.
Police said the accused teacher, Shruti Singh, has been booked under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a weapon or any other means).
SHO of Nigohi police station, Dhananjay Singh, said, "During preliminary investigation and physical inspection, carried out by the chief medical officer, we found the allegations to be correct. The doctors also suspect damage to the boy's left eye due to the assault. However, we have to wait for a supplementary medical report along with the details of the scans. Action will be taken accordingly."
The boy's parents, who are daily wagers, had approached police earlier as well but no FIR was registered then. Saurabh's mother, Leelawati Devi, told TOI, "After Shruti Singh thrashed my son, the area around his left eye swelled. We thought it would heal in a day or two but it didn't. When we tried to file an FIR against the teacher, the police didn't take the complaint seriously. Soon, his vision became blurry and we took him to a doctor in Pilibhit and later to Lucknow."
"The doctor in Lucknow told us that there was a blood clot beneath his eye which led to swelling and that surgery would be needed. However, there is no guarantee that his eyesight will return, the doctor said," Devi added.
"After returning from Lucknow, we approached the police again. This time they took our complaint but still favoured the teacher and mentioned her name as Sunita instead of Shruti in the FIR," Devi said.
Basic shiksha adhikari Kumar Gaurav said, "I had initially planned to suspend Shruti based on the boy's medical report but after receiving a written explanation from her, in which she stated that she was on leave on the day of the incident, I have ordered a departmental enquiry, which will be conducted by the education officer from a different block. We will also wait for the police investigation report."
Ankur Tripathi, district president of teachers' association, said, "We want a fair investigation in this case. Action should be taken only after evidence is found against the accused teacher."
TOI tried contacting the teacher over the phone but she was not available to comment.