Teacher gets jail for forcing Dalit student to remove excreta

According to the prosecution, R Vijayalakshmi had forced the boy to remove the excreta after his classmate defecated in the school in 2015. She had also abused him using caste names. The boy reported the harassment to his daily wager parents and they, along with members of Dalit outfits, thronged the school demanding action against the teacher.

Based on a complaint, the Namakkal police registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and arrested her. She was lodged at the Salem Central Prison. Following an enquiry by the Education Department, the School Education Department also placed her under suspension. It also came to light that the teacher had earlier asked Dalit students to separately practice for the annual day.

After the trial, special court judge Dhanasekaran ordered five years imprisonment for the teacher and also slapped her with a fine amount of Rs 1,000 for the offence. She was then taken to Coimbatore Central Prison.