The Karnataka Police Saturday arrested a couple running a residential school for children with special needs in the Bagalkot district for allegedly beating a 16-year-old differently-abled boy brutally and throwing chilli powder into his eyes.
The alleged incident at Divya Jyoti Special Children’s Residential School was suspected to have occurred three months ago but came to light last week after a video went viral. The police identified the accused as Akshay Indulkar and his wife Malini.
According to the complaint filed by the victim’s parents, the child had been attending the school for three years and was paying a monthly fee of Rs 6,000.
Akshay allegedly physically attacked the child, and once he fell to the ground in pain, the couple allegedly threw chilli powder into his eyes. The boy’s parents saw the disturbing footage and immediately approached the police. Enraged parents gathered in front of the school, demanding strict action, prompting police to rush to the scene and launch an inquiry.
The victim’s mother expressed shock at seeing her son brutally beaten by teachers. “For the safety of other children, I will fight to shut down this school,” she told the media.
Siddharth Goyal, Superintendent of Police, confirmed that the accused couple were arrested. “It is a three-month-old video recorded by the cook, and she was sacked from the job. During the probe, it was revealed that the victim had fought with another boy at the school, which led the teachers to brutally assault him. The child development project officer and child rights protection officials have visited the centre, and we have filed a case under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police said investigations revealed that the school was operating without the mandatory licence. The Women and Child Development Department also issued a notice and directed the officials to shut down the facility.