Class 4 student dies after teacher throws him off school building in Karnataka

A class 4 student died on Monday after a guest teacher allegedly thrashed him and pushed him off the first-floor balcony of a government-run school at Hadli village in Naragund taluk of Karnataka’s Gadag district, police said.

According to the police, the teacher, identified as Muthappa Yellapa, 45, beat up the 10-year-old boy with a shovel and threw him from the first floor of the school building premises. The incident took place at 11:30am on Monday, said police.

The accused also allegedly thrashed the victim’s mother, who is also a teacher at the school, for trying to intervene and stop him, the police said. She is receiving treatment at KIMS Hospital, they said.

“The boy was killed and his mother was also seriously injured. Another teacher, Shivanand Patil also sustained minor injuries, and has been admitted to a local hospital,” superintendent of police (SP) Shivprakash Devaraju told the media.

Muthappa first beat up the boy on the first floor of the school premises and then threw him off the building, which lead to his death, the SP said. The accused teacher also allegedly thrashed the boy’s mother with a shovel.

According to the police, following the incident, Muthappa fled the spot and is absconding while efforts are on to arrest him at the earliest. An FIR has been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), they said.

“It is clear how the incident occurred but we don’t know the motive behind it yet. We will get more information in a day or two,” SP Devaraju said.

“We will interrogate all the teachers and students in the school in a systematic manner, he said, adding, “…we have also formed a special team to nab the accused at the earliest.”