A disturbing video of Class 10 students of a school in Karnataka's Davanagere harassing an elderly teacher in the classroom by putting a dustbin on his head has gone viral on social media.
In the video, the teacher, identified as Prakash Bogar, is seen teaching Hindi, while a group of students in Nalluru Government High school in Channagiri taluk of Davanagere district starts harassing him.
They teased him, hit him, ran away and also made videos of the same, however, the teacher decided to stop the outrage with a plea: “Please forgive those students, don’t file any case against them or dismiss them from classes.”
Viral Video Shows How Students Assaulted the Teacher
The video shows the teacher writing on the blackboard as a group of three boys gather around the teacher put a dustbin on his head. The incident took place on 6 December.
The teacher, however, calmly removes the dustbin and continues to teach. Later, one of the students tries to pull the teacher's clothes as he writes on the board.
In another part of the video, students try to heckle him and also record the incident. Other students in the class can be seen celebrating the incident.
After the shocking video surfaced, local MLA Madal Virupakshappa visited the school and inquired about the incident.
The students were then asked to touch the feet of the teacher and apologise.
The teacher forgave them and asked them not to repeat such an act with any other teacher in the future.
"The children were still young and had made a mistake. There is no need to hand them over to police or dismiss them from class. This is a lesson for them and they will be better," Bogar said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh took to Twitter and said, “The heckling and assault on a teacher by some students at the high school in Davanagere’s Channagiri taluk is condemnable. Such incidents cannot be tolerated. Regarding this, the Education Department officials and police are investigating. They have been asked to take appropriate action. The Education Department will always be with teachers.”
(With inputs from The News Minute.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)