KANPUR: The family members of 15-year-old Dalit boy who died on Monday, days after being thrashed by his schoolteacher in Auraiya, agreed to cremate his body after the administration officials assured them about adequate compensation and strict action against the guilty. The body was cremated outside his Baisauli village at around 12 noon on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the accused teacher is still absconding.
Earlier, the village witnessed large-scale violence late on Monday evening when Nikhit's body arrived. Bhim Army activists visited the boy's home. Local residents, led by the boy's family, staged a massive protest keeping his body on the road.
The mob also set a police vehicle on fire and damaged the car of the district magistrate, who had reached the spot to pacify the protesters, the police said, adding that additional forces had to be called in to control the demonstrators. Superintendent of Police (SP) Charu Nigam also reached the spot.
On Tuesday, police arrested nine persons out of the 35 named and 250 unknown people booked for the Monday evening violence. "A case has been registered at Achhalda police station. Auraiya police arrested nine persons accused of protesting with the dead body of the student on the road and burning and damaging government vehicles. They have been sent to jail after being produced in the court on Tuesday," said Auraiya SP Charu Nigam.
Police action evoked a sharp reaction from Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad. Accusing police of highhandedness, he tweeted: "A school student in Auraiya dies due to ruthless thrashing by a teacher and the police want to forcibly conduct the last rites against the wishes of the family."
SP national president Akhilesh Yadav also expressed grief over the incident and raised the demand of the government to give compensation to the victim's family. "The news of the death of a student in Auraiya due to severe beating by the teacher is not only a sad incident but also a very sensitive one. Government should not only take appropriate action, but also give necessary compensation to the victim's family," he tweeted.
A day after the violence, ADG Bhanu Bhaskar, IG Prashant Kumar, divisional commissioner Raj Shekhar, Auraiya DM Prakash Chandra Srivastava and SP Charu Nigam reached the house of dalit boy who died after being allegedly thrashed by his teacher for giving one wrong answer in a class test, to convince them to perform his last rites. The family relented after the initial protest.
