Maharashtra schoolgirl dies after teacher 'forced her to do 100 sit-ups'; probe on

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A Class 6 student of a school in Vasai passed away on Friday night after she was allegedly made to do 100 sit-ups as punishment for reaching school late last Saturday (November 8).

According to a report by The Indian Express, parents of Anshika Gaud, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital after being made to do the sit-ups, blamed a teacher and the school for her death.

The school education department has ordered a probe into the incident, assigning the task to the local education officer. Describing the episode as “deeply tragic,” Vasai education officer Sonali Matekar told the newspaper that a team had been dispatched to the school on Saturday for a preliminary investigation.

“As per their report, a few students of the school were made to do sit-ups as punishment for being late to school on November 8 by a tecaher named Mamta Yadav. The primary inquiry report has been submitted to the school education department. A committee is going to conduct a more detailed inquiry following which strict action will be taken. Corporal punishment is prohibited under law and schools along with teachers have been made aware of it time and again,” Matekar was quoted by IE as saying.

The local police have lodged an accidental death report in the matter, the report added. “We are awaiting the postmortem report and the school education department inquiry report based on which further course of action will be decided,” a police officer told the newspaper.

Parents of other students who were also “punished” alleged that the teacher asked them to do 100 sit-ups and their wards did over 90 sit-ups.

The students were taken to class later. However, as per the parents, Anshika, who, as per the report, was suffering from a pre-existing medical condition, was feeling unwell and fell asleep after reaching home.

Later that day, as her condition deteriorated and she began struggling to breathe, she was taken to a nearby hospital. With no improvement, she was subsequently shifted to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital, where she died on Friday night, police said.

On Saturday, the parents, accompanied by members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), visited the school and demanded action against the teacher.