NEW DELHI: Eleven-year-old Shanno Khan, who was beaten and made to stand out in the sun for not knowing the English alphabet, died here yesterday, sending shock waves across the nation. The teacher has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, officials said.
Shanno slipped into a coma Wednesday after her class teacher Manju in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) primary school in Narela in north Delhi beat her and made her stand in the heat 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 yesterday afternoon. “A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against the teacher following the death of the girl. The teacher will be arrested soon,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Atul Katiyar.
“The teacher is not in our reach right now. But I cannot say that she is absconding,” Katiyar told reporters. As the news spread, agitated people surrounded the school and raised slogans against the school authorities. The school was closed and policemen were stationed outside its gates.
Shanno’s father, Mohammed Ayub Khan, who is a laborer, said: “The MCD has suspended the teacher who punished Shanno but this will not bring our daughter back. We want justice for our daughter.”
Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra said the guilty would be brought to book. “Both the teacher and the principal were suspended yesterday. By evening the teacher’s services would be terminated. I have also ordered an inquiry into the incident. Whoever has done this will pay for it,” she said.
India’s Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury said the incident was a “terrible tragedy.”
“This is a sad and barbaric act. Corporal punishment is banned in schools, yet it persists everywhere. There must be more awareness and sensitization programs in schools,” Sandhya Bajaj, a member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: “I am shocked. This should not have happened. This is just not acceptable. I have spoken to the education secretary and MCD commissioner. We will ensure that this is the last incident of its kind.”
