FIR against warden for corporal punishment in Manipur

Lilong police in Manipur’s Thoubal district registered a case against a hostel warden of a residential school for allegedly subjecting students to corporal punishment.
District education office of the same district also constituted a three-member inquiry committee to probe the recent incident reported at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya (Boys’ Hostel) at Lilong in Thoubal district.
NSCBAV is a residential school established under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan scheme of the Union ministry of Education.
The Lilong police have also written to the Child Welfare Committee, Thoubal to take necessary legal action against the warden.
The warden of the hostel allegedly physically assaulted a group of students inside the hostel premise between 10.40 pm and 11.30 pm of September 27.
A total of 15 students were allegedly subjected to severe beatings with a stick, the police stated in the case registered against the warden.
Lilong police station registered the case under Section 118(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act regarding the incident.
As per the source, the warden, identified as Md Ajimuddin, allegedly beat the students with a stick, causing injuries.
According to the police, the injured students fled the hostel and sought help from nearby residents. Locals, along with BSF personnel stationed in the area, intervened and rescued the children before handing them over to Lilong police station, who then arranged medical care at a nearby community health centre (CHC). In India, corporal punishment in schools can result in police action and legal consequences under laws like the Juvenile Justice Act and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which prohibits physical and mental harassment of children. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also provides guidelines for eliminating corporal punishment, and authorities can take suo-motu cases.
Noting the incident seriously, the zonal education office (ZEO) zone-III, Thoubal, constituted a three-member inquiry committee to probe the incident.
With deputy inspectors of schools as members, the committee has to submit its report to ZEO Thoubal on or before October 9.
Further, the Lilong police have also written to the Child Welfare Committee, Thoubal to take necessary legal action against the accused warden under relevant legal provisions.
In the letter, the police stated that they, in the presence of a medical officer of CHC Lilong, examined and verified the student victims on September 28.
The students bore visible marks of injuries. Photographic evidence and medical observations have also been recorded, the police stated in the letter.
The act of physical assault and use of corporal punishment is a gross violation of the educational guidelines of the department of education (school) and cannot be condoned under any circumstance, the police pointed in the letter.