A teacher and the principal of a residential school in Karnataka’s Kolar have been arrested after Dalit students were allegedly forced to clean a septic tank, The Indian Express reported on Monday.
Four contractual employees of the school have also been suspended after a purported video of the incident surfaced on social media, NDTV reported.
At least four students were allegedly made to step into the septic tank and clean it with their hands as a punishment, according to NDTV.
The video sparked outrage, reportedly prompting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene. The police then arrested the Principal Bharathamma and the arts and crafts teacher Muniyappa. They have also been suspended for alleged negligence and dereliction of duty.
The video was circulated by Muniyappa and guest teacher Maresh, The Indian Express quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.
“The students were not provided food according to the menu chart and another guest teacher Abhishek reportedly assaulted the students,” the police official added. “It has also been discovered that cleaning staff Kalavathi had deployed students to clean the septic tank and when Bharathamma came to know about it, she had warned her but did not initiate any action.”
Manual scavenging is banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.
However, the practice was prevalent in nearly 34% of the districts in India, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had said in an official document in June. A month later, the Central Monitoring Committee of the ministry claimed that manual scavenging had been eliminated.
Also read: How to cover up manual scavenging: Dhule municipality gives cash to workers but denies they exist
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