Class 8 boy hit with cane on head by teacher loses eyesight

A Class 8 student from Pallikaranai lost his eyesight after he was allegedly beaten by one of his teachers at a government school in Medavakkam. Karthik (13), the eldest son of Velu and Rekha, lives at Thanam Nagar in Pallikaranai along with his two younger siblings.

On February 4, Karthik was beaten by his Tamil teacher for not completing his homework. Sources said that the teacher had beaten ten students that day using a steel ruler for not completing homework and Karthik was one of them.

“As Karthik was hit on his head, he complained to his parents that he was suffering from headache since that evening. After waiting for a few days for the injury to heal, his parents took him to a government eye hospital in Egmore on February 10 when the teenager complained of losing sight on his left eye,” a source close to the family said.

Doctors at the hospital, who performed a surgery on Karthik to restore his eyesight within two days, found that the nerves leading to the child’s eyes were completely damaged and vision was lost in both his eyes. Later, they referred him the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital here.

Speaking to DT Next, Karthik’s mother Rekha said that her son was good in studies and very interested in sketching as he wanted to be a professional artist.

“We have three children and we wanted all our children to come up in life and not suffer like us,” said Rekha, whose husband Velu works at the local burial ground as a daily wager. “As Karthik likes to draw, we encouraged him to participate in drawing competitions. Now, his eyesight is gone and our dreams are shattered.”

The family, however, has not yet preferred a police complaint but have taken up the issue to the district education officer.

District Education Officer M Damodaran said that they have ordered for an inquiry regarding the incident and action will be taken following the probe. “After we receive the final report, we will initiate action,” he said.

When contacted, the Pallikaranai police said that they are waiting for a complaint from the family Karthik to take further action in the issue.