In a disturbing incident, Dalit students of a residential school in Kolar district, Karnataka, were allegedly forced to clean a septic tank by school authorities.
The incident was reported in Morarji Desai Residential School Kolar in Yaluvahalli in Malur taluk on December 1. According to reports, in the videos doing rounds on social media teachers were seen ordering students to climb down the septic tank and clean it as punishment.
It created a massive outrage among the citizens, prompting the intervention of chief minister Siddaramaiah and home minister G Parameshwara, ordering a detailed investigative report.
On the direction of residential school director Naveen Kumar and joint director of social welfare department Srinivas, the school principal Bharatamma, teacher Muniyappa hostel warden Manjunath and guest teacher Abhishek have been suspended.
While Bharatamma and Muniyappa were arrested, police are on the lookout for the remaining two.
According to local reports, the school houses 243 students, including 19 girls from Class 6 to 9.
Even though manual scavenging has been banned in India for 30 years it is still practised in several states resulting in deaths relating to suffocation and no proper safety gear.
