K’taka couple held, residential school sealed over video beating disabled child

APicture showing the purported wild assault of a 16-year-old otherwise abled boy interior a residential schooltime in northern Karnataka has led to the arrest of a couple who ran the institution and the closure of the facility by authorities, police said on Sunday.The incident occurred at the Divyajyoti School for Differently Abled Children in the Navagar area of Bagalkot. The video, which surfaced last week and quickly spread online, shows the teenager being beaten with a belt and a plastic pipe. Even after the boy collapses to the ground, crying in pain with his legs pinned down, the assault continues. At one point, chilli powder is thrown into his eyes. HT could not independently verify the veracity of the video.Police identified the main accused as Akshay Indulkar, who allegedly led the assault, and his wife Malini , who is seen throwing chilli powder into the boy’s eyes. Authorities said the couple, along with two others linked to the school, were detained for questioning. The couple were later arrested on Saturday.According to the police, the video was recorded about three months ago by a cook who was later dismissed from her job. The footage came to light after it was reportedly leaked by a former employee of the institution, triggering widespread outrage among parents and the public.The boy’s parents filed a complaint after seeing the video. They told the police that their son had been studying at the school for three years and that they were paying a monthly fee of ₹6000. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered.Superintendent of police in Bagalkot, Siddharth Goyal, confirmed the arrests and said the investigation had revealed that the boy had earlier been involved in a fight with another student, which allegedly prompted the teachers to assault him. “It is a three month old video recorded by the cook, and she was sacked from the job. During the probe, it was revealed that the victim had fought with another boy at the school, which led the teachers to brutally assault him,” he said. He added that officials had filed a case under the Juvenile Justice Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.The victim’s mother said she was devastated after watching the footage of her son being beaten by those entrusted with his care. “For the safety of other children, I will fight to shut down this school,” she told the media.Authorities also found that the school was operating without the mandatory licence. The Women and Child Development Department issued a notice on Friday and directed officials to shut down the facility, bringing operations at the residential school to an end.