ALAPPUZHA: Headmaster A.A. Xavierkutty of Leo XIII Higher Secondary School here is in the dock with at least eight class IX students accusing him of physical and mental torture. However, the headmaster has denied the charge saying that a shopkeeper on the campus had instigated the students to complain against him following a dispute over the items being sold to the students. The shopowner on the other hand said that he had only helped the students to write their complaints and given it to the district child protection officer.
The students gave their complaint to the district Child Welfare Committee on November 6 and the CWC has sought a report from the DCPO. The complaint written by one of the students has accused the headmaster of grabbing the students’ genitals and showering abuses on them. “He put a stick inside our trouser as we did not insert our shirt and squeezed our belly after taking us inside a room. When we cried for water, he asked a boy to drink the urine of another,” said the petition with the signature of all eight boy students along with the contact numbers of their parents.
Ms Marykutty, CWC chairperson in-charge, said that the petition was considered in the sitting a few days ago and that DCPO Sabu Joseph had been asked to submit a report. The mother of a student told DC that she had given a withdrawal note to Mr Sabu Joseph. It is alleged that the headmaster had faced similar charges earlier. In 2016, when he was serving as headmaster of St. Joseph High School, Pravoor near here, the parents had accused him of torturing their wards. A case is still under consideration of the CWC.
Another class IX student had complained in September that the headmaster had grabbed his chest for not answering the questions. The mother of that student told DC that she had withdrawn the complaint after he sought pardon from them. Mr Xavierkutty said the present case was the outcome of a conspiracy hatched by Mr Shaji, the grocery shopkeeper. “I had restricted the students from going to the shop as we were unsure about the items being sold there. I had asked the manager to get the shop sealed,” he said. Recently, these students were kept out of the class for a couple of days since they returned to the school very late after lunch break. The shopkeeper took advantage of that circumstance, he said.
Mr Shaji alias Thomas Joseph, who is also para-legal volunteer of Kerala State Legal Service Authority (KSLSA), said that he had been running the shop on contract for the last 14 years and that he had close association with the school management for the last 19 years. “Since I am a volunteer of KSLSA, I am duty-bound to report to the authorities the child abuse and help the victims out. They told me about their ordeal and I asked them to write it as a complaint in a piece of paper which I gave to the DCPO. However, he has delayed the report so that the accused will get time to influence the kids and their parents,” he alleged.
