Kanpur school director, principal among four booked for alleged mental harassment of Class 2 student

NEW DELHI: Four staff members of a private school here have been booked for alleged mental harassment an eight-year-old boy after accusing him of stealing a pen, police said on Friday. The incident came to light after the Class 2 student began displaying signs of being disturbed, by writing "Help" in his books and the walls of his house and crying in his sleep, according to a complaint filed by the boy's parents.

Following the complaint, an FIR was registered on December 23 against four staff members of the private school at Sen Paschim Para in Kanpur, including its director Devraj Singh Rajawat, principal Anuprit Rawal, and teachers Sangeeta Malik and Swatantra Agnihotri, police said. In her complaint, the child's mother alleged that her son was falsely accused of stealing a pen and mentally harassed.

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School denies CCTV access

She said her son was summoned to the school on December 12 over an incident that occurred on November 28, a day he did not attend school. The family noticed behavioural changes in the child, who became withdrawn and woke up crying at night, saying, "Ma'am, I didn't take the pen." He also began writing the word "Help" in his books and the walls of his home, the family said. The complaint also alleged that the child was coerced into recording a "confession video".

The school refused to share CCTV footage and instead, pressured the family to pay for the pen, it said. Police said they have issued notices to the accused, but they failed to appear in the station. "An FIR has been registered and the matter is under investigation," said Station Officer Pradeep Kumar Singh.