Class 3 student beaten up, locked up for 3 days for ‘stealing’ pen at Karnataka ashram

A class 3 student was allegedly beaten up, tortured and locked up in a room for three days by the in-charge of the Ramakrishna Ashram in Karnataka’s Raichur as a punishment for allegedly stealing a pen.

The matter came to light after the child’s family filed a police case against the residential school’s in-charge Venugopal and his aides on Sunday (August 4).

According to India Today, the boy named Tarun Kumar, alleged that the teacher, Venugopal, and two other older students hit him with firewood and when it broke used a bat to punish him.

Tarun’s family said his classmates had accused him of stealing a pen and reported the matter to the ashram in-charge, leading to the ‘punishment’.

“They also caused cuts on my body. They took me to Yagdir to beg for alms at the railway station, but I didn’t receive any money,” he told the police, as per the India Today report.

The report said that the boy sustained multiple injuries including swollen eyes and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital.

Tarun’s mother, who had sent him and his older brother to stay and study in the ashram due to financial difficulties, learned about the incident when she visited the Ramakrishna Ashram recently. She said her older son, who studies in Class 5 told her about the ordeal his brother underwent, following which she filed a complaint against the authorities.

She also denied the charge that Tarun had stolen the pen.