Bengaluru Class 6 student’s death sparks protest; parents allege assault by PE teacher

Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.The suspicious death of a Class 6 student at a residential school in Bengaluru’s Kadayarappanahalli on Wednesday, July 8, has triggered protests by his parents, who allege that he died after being assaulted by the school’s Physical Education (PE) teacher.According to reports, 12-year-old Gurukiran, a student of Sterling English Residential School, collapsed while jogging during the school’s morning exercise session and was later declared dead. However, his parents claim that the collapse followed an assault by the PE teacher, identified as Narayana.“When we reached the hospital, we were told that our son had died before he arrived there. Later, after speaking to his classmates, we learned that the physical education teacher, Narayana, had allegedly beaten him with a rod inside the washroom and struck him on the neck. After assaulting him, the teacher allegedly forced him to run two rounds of the school campus, during which he collapsed. We believe the assault led to our son’s death,” Gurukiran’s father, Raghavendra, alleged.Following the incident, Gurukiran’s parents and relatives staged a protest outside the school, demanding justice. As tensions escalated with the agitating parents threatening to physically harm the teacher, police resorted to a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd. The PE teacher was detained for questioning.Several of Gurukiran’s classmates reportedly told the media that the teacher frequently beat students with sticks over minor issues.Speaking to reporters, Gurukiran’s mother, Yeshaswini, said her son had called her on Monday asking for a new school uniform and a new pair of shoes. She added that he had joined the school last year and had resumed classes for his second academic year only a month ago.“He was active and healthy. He had no history of heart-related ailments or any other health issues,” she said, responding to speculation that the death could have been caused by an underlying heart condition.Police said the teacher is being questioned and that they are awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death. This story was written by a student interning with TNM.