Sixteen years after a tragic incident at Saraswati Shiksha Niketan in Mirza, a Kamrup court has convicted two teachers and sentenced them to seven years’ imprisonment for the death of a Class VI student who was allegedly beaten for not completing his homework.
Additional Sessions Judge Nishant Goswami’s court at Amingaon, Kamrup, sentenced the school’s Vice-Principal Prasoon Goswami and computer teacher Ajay Kumar Singh to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each.
The court found both accused guilty under Sections 325 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code in connection with the death of 12-year-old student Mousamraj Mahanta.
The incident took place on May 25, 2010, when the student allegedly failed to complete his homework. According to the prosecution, computer teacher Ajay Kumar Singh became angry and struck the boy’s left knee four to five times with a stick.
The student was later taken to the room of Vice-Principal Prasoon Goswami, who allegedly also hit the child’s left knee three times with a cane.
Following the assault, Mousamraj developed severe pain in his leg and became seriously ill. Initially, his family arranged treatment in Mirza, but as his condition worsened, he was shifted to GNRC Hospital in Guwahati for advanced medical care.
The child later developed septicaemia due to injuries sustained from the assault and died while undergoing treatment on June 7, 2010.
A case was registered at Palashbari Police Station under case number 128/2010 against the two teachers. During the trial, the court examined statements of 18 witnesses before delivering the verdict.
While announcing the judgment, the court strongly criticised the conduct and “cruel mentality” of the two teachers, observing that two senior members of an educational institution repeatedly assaulted a child, resulting in injuries that eventually caused his death.
The court also observed that the parents of the deceased child were entitled to compensation and directed the Kamrup District Legal Services Authority to examine the matter and take necessary steps for providing compensation to the family.
