New Delhi, April 17 (Inditop) Eleven-year-old Shano Khan, who slipped into a coma after being subjected to corporal punishment by her school teacher, died here Friday. However, the police have not yet registered a case.
Shano slipped into a coma Wednesday after her class teacher Manju in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) primary school in Narela in north Delhi made her stand in the sun for more than an hour for failing to recite the alphabet.
The girl was shifted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital Thursday evening after her condition deteriorated. She died Friday afternoon.
“We have not registered a case in the matter as yet. We are waiting for the medical report,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer Delhi) Atul Katiyar told IANS while confirming that the girl had died.
Shano’s father, Mohammed Ayub Khan, said: “Police have not yet registered a complaint in the matter. The MCD has suspended the teacher who punished Shano but this will not bring our daughter back.”
Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra said: “Both the teacher and the principal were suspended yesterday. By evening the teacher’s services would be terminated. I have also ordered an enquiry into the incident. Whoever has done this will pay for it.”
Mehra has announced compensation of Rs.50,000 for Shano’s parents.
“Its such a terrible tragedy that a innocent girl died after being punished by teacher. Its high time that we take cognisance of such incidents,” said Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury.
“It is shocking how a young girl was punished so brutally that she lost her life. We are going to ask the school and other authorities concerned for an explanation and also to submit a report on the same,” Amod Kanth, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), told IANS.
Sandhya Bajaj, member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), condemned the incident and said they will take strict action against the authorities after reviewing the medical report and the report of the enquiry set up by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
“At the moment we are awaiting the medical report of the girl and the enquiry report of the MCD. After that we will take action. This incident is absolutely condemnable,” said Bajaj.
Calling the incident “shameful”, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Girija Vyas said: “We have taken cognizance of the matter and have send our team to probe into the matter, after which a report will be submitted.”
In March 2008, a 15-year-old girl was hit by a male teacher for refusing to take private tution from him. The girl died after remaining in coma for nearly two-and-a-half months.
Bajaj said such incidents reflected the blatant manner in which laws were being flouted everywhere.
“Corporal punishment in schools has been banned but it continues to persist everywhere. Therefore, there has to be more awareness and counselling amongst teachers and others in this regard,” she added.
