Jalore student death: Yet to ascertain if caste-based discrimination led to death of Dalit boy in Jalore, says RSCPCR

Jaipur: The Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) is yet to ascertain whether the death of the nine-year-old Dalit boy in Jalore district was a result of caste-based discrimination, its member said on Saturday. The report of the findings will be submitted to the state government on Monday. Indra Kumar Meghwal, a third-standard student of Saraswati Vidhay Mandir in Surana village, was beaten up by his teacher Chail Singh on 20 July allegedly for touching a drinking water pot and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad on 14 August. Shiv Bhagwan Naga, an RSCPCR member, who visited Surana village in Jalore on 17 August said, “according to fellow students, Meghwal along with one another student was slapped by Singh for fighting over a drawing book as a result of which, Meghwal suffered injuries in his ear and eye.” “I visited the school and home of the deceased boy. I spoke to many of the students, teachers, and local people apart from the family. While most of the students ruled out any caste-based discrimination and separate drinking water arrangements in the school, Meghwal’s cousin said the teacher thrashed the nine-year-old because he drank water from his water pot after lunch,” he told PTI. The deceased’s cousin is a fifth-standard student in the same school. Naga said, “as per other students and teachers, there was no water pot in the school and everyone on the premises drank water from a tank.” “Villagers have also denied any incident of caste-based discrimination taking place in the village in the past,” he said. The RSCPCR member said that the commission has directed the education department to ensure that in case the recognition of the school in question is terminated, its students should be shifted to another school so that their studies do not suffer. “The matter is under investigation but it could not be established so far that the teacher thrashed him for touching the water pot,” Superintendent of Police Jalore Harsh Vardhan Agarwalla said.   Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.