Taking suo moto cognisance of media reports that two students of Class-II were tied up to iron grills with plastic wires and beaten up at a private school by a teacher in Puri district, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has slapped notice on the School and Mass Education (S&ME) Secretary, the Elementary Education Director and the Puri District Magistrate (DM).
The commission has asked them to submit reports within three weeks. The teacher of privately-managed Ramakrishna Vidyamandir near Gopalpur Balighat on the Puri-Konark road allegedly beat up the students over some petty matter on Thursday.
Some mediapersons, who had visited the village to cover a fire mishap, took photos of the tortured students and also video-graphed the incident.
Meanwhile, School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
“I have asked the Puri District Education Officer for an inquiry. The fact can only be revealed after the BEO completes the probe,” said Mishra.
Meanwhile, Puri DEO Salila Sethy said action would be taken only after submission of a report.
“As per the Right to Education (RTE), school campus is a punishment-free zone. We cannot punish the students in any form either mentally or physically,” she added.