The death of a 15-year-old Dalit boy has sparked massive protest in Uttar Pradesh's Auriya district after his upper-caste teacher allegedly beat him up following a spelling error.
The boy, Nikhit Dohre, was allegedly thrashed by his teacher Ashwini Singh, who is on a run, on September 7.
Dohre died on Saturday night while being taken to the government hospital and his body was handed over to his family after a postmortem last evening.
In a police complaint, the boy's father alleged that the teacher beat him with sticks and rods until he fell unconscious after he spelt a spelling wrong in the social science test. He further claimed that the teacher first gave Rs 10,000 and then Rs30,00 for the boy's treatment but later stopped receiving their calls. The boy's father said that when he confronted the teacher, he was abused with casteist slurs.
The victim's family members, who are part of the political outfit Bhim Army, had initially refused to cremate the body unless the teacher was arrested. They staged a huge protest on the streets outside the school in the Achhalda area demanding the arrest of the teacher.
According to reports, a police van was set on fire following the protest.
The boy's family and Bhim Army members agreed to take Nikhit's body to their village for cremation after senior police and district officials rushed to the spot and assured them of swift action. The police have included sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the FIR.