Amaravati:
A six-year-old boy has died at a private school in Visakhapatnam, with his family alleging he was beaten by a teacher for not completing his homework.
The child, identified as Pranay Teja, was reportedly taken ill inside his classroom at Little Garden School, a private school in the One Town area. He was later brought to King George Hospital (KGH), where doctors declared him dead. His family has alleged that he collapsed after being beaten by a teacher with a stick.
Police and revenue officials have begun looking into the circumstances surrounding the death. The exact medical cause of death is expected to be established through a post-mortem examination.
Family members and relatives gathered at the hospital after learning of the death and demanded strict action against those responsible.
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According to the family, Pranay left home on Thursday morning in what appeared to be good health. His father said the child had himself insisted on going to school that day.
“In the morning around 8:00 AM, my son woke up and said he wanted to go to school. He insisted on going to school,” the father said, recounting the events leading up to the tragedy.
The family initially did not send him immediately, but with examinations approaching, they eventually agreed.
“We thought, ‘Okay, exams are coming up soon, so let him go.’ He said, ‘Alright Dad, I’m leaving,’ and went to school,” the father said.
The family said there was nothing unusual about the child when he left home. But several hours later, they received disturbing news.
The father said that at around noon, he received a phone call informing him that something had happened to his son, though the call did not come directly from the school.
“No one from the school called me,” he said. “The local cooks who work near my brother-in-law’s place called and informed me.”
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By the time the child was taken to King George Hospital, the family was told he had already died.
The father said the family later sought information about what had happened inside the school and was shown CCTV footage that, according to them, showed the teacher hitting the child.
“When we checked the CCTV footage at the school, it showed that the teacher scared him. She hit him with a stick, and due to shock and fear, he collapsed right there,” the father alleged.
He also said a doctor had told the family that the child had died some time before reaching the hospital.
“The doctor told us that he had passed away half an hour before arriving at the hospital,” he said.
The CCTV footage accessed by NDTV shows the teacher hitting the child. Moments later, the child collapses.
The father strongly rejected any suggestion that his son had been unwell before leaving for school.
“No issues at all,” he said, when asked whether his son had any underlying health problems. “He was playing happily last night and woke up fine this morning. He didn’t have any viral fever or any other health problems.”
The family has alleged that the incident was not an isolated act of physical punishment, claiming that other children had also been beaten. They have demanded strict action if the allegations are established.
Revenue Divisional Officer Dilip Chakravarthy also reached the hospital after receiving information about the incident.
“I came to know about this incident that a 6-year-old boy has been brought dead to KGH from the school,” the RDO said, adding that the government wing was collecting full details about the incident.
Police have registered a case and started an investigation, while the body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
