Teacher who caned student arrested

CHENNAI: The teacher who caned a class V student in Ambattur was arrested by the city police on Monday.
Rajapandi, a student at the St Mary's Nursery and Primary School in Ambattur, was blinded after he was caned by his teacher, Maragatham, for talking in class. When he was taken to the government eye hospital in Egmore, doctors there had said that he had lost his vision.
When Rajapandi's parents questioned the teacher, she had declined to admit her fault, claiming instead that the boy had hurt himself after falling outside the school premises while on his way home.
However, after reports appeared in the media, police picked up Maragatham on Monday and interrogated her. She finally admitted that she had caned the boy and that she had lied earlier to protect the image of the school. The police booked her for causing injury and have remanded her in custody.
Sengamalan, Rajapandi's father, told TOI that even though the teacher was remanded, his children were still not allowed in school. "My child lost his eyesight and both my children are out of school now. I would be happy if my son's eyesight is restored. The official from Tiruvallur who had come on behalf of the education department did not conduct the enquiry properly. If he had done so, he should have known that the teacher was guilty," Sengamalan said.