THE GOAN NETWORK
PONDA: A 31-year-old librarian from Valpoi has been arrested on charges of assaulting a student at a school in Ponda taluka on Saturday afternoon.
According to reporters, the Std 8 student lodged a police complaint against the school librarian, Amit Sawant, stating that the librarian had beaten him outside the classroom and in front of fellow students on Saturday afternoon.
The boy's mother told The Goan that she had come to know about the incident on Monday.
“On Saturday, a teacher dropped my son off near our house. In the evening, my husband and I had gone to Belgaum and when I returned on Monday, I became aware of the incident and took him to the Sub District Hospital for treatment. The librarian has fractured my son's hand,” said the mother.
On Tuesday, the mother took her son to the Ponda police station and a complaint was filed in the matter.
Speaking to The Goan, the student said the incident had taken place when he along with a fellow student had gone to inform a teacher that he was scheduled to take their seventh period.
Assuming that the teacher concerned was in Std 8B, the victim's classmate opened the door which was locked from the outside and found only students inside the class.
“Our teacher was not there in Std 8B division class. The class, which was full of students, was latched from outside. The librarian thought that I opened it and he began assaulting me with kicks and punches. I sustained a head injury and fracture to my hand,” the boy said.
Asked why he had not informed parents on Saturday after the incident, the boy replied: “I was not in a condition to tell my parents about it. I began to vomit and had body pain. I then went to sleep and by then my parents had left for Belgaum.”
The victim stayed with his sister at home after his parents had left for Belgaum. Later, some students of the same school residing in the village reported the matter to their parents who took the initiative to inform the boy's parents about the incident.
Acting on a police complaint, Ponda police arrested the librarian, Amit Sawant under Section 323 of Indian Penal Code and Section 8 of Goa Children's Act.
When contacted, the school management chairman told The Goan that he had no knowledge of the incident and assured to look into the matter.
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