Mumbai court jails 12 ex-Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena members for 2010 teacher assault

A Mumbai sessions court sentenced 12 former Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena members for assaulting a municipal school teacher and smearing black ink on his face in 2010. The court said the grievance could have been raised lawfully and held the attack aimed to deter him from performing official duties.

In Short

• The 2010 incident followed allegations that the teacher had beaten a student
• Around 10 to 12 people allegedly summoned him to the headmaster's office
• He was beaten with a stick, kicks and fists, prosecutors said

A Mumbai Court has sentenced 12 former members of the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena, the student wing of the undivided Shiv Sena, to six months' rigorous imprisonment for assaulting a municipal school teacher and smearing black ink on his face in 2010.

The incident took place at a municipal school in Mulund, Mumbai, after the teacher was allegedly accused of beating a student a few days earlier.

Sessions Judge KM Jaisingani said smearing ink on a school teacher was a serious offence and that taking a lenient view could send the wrong message to society.

"The accused had dared to throw/smear black coloured ink on the face of a school teacher which is not an excusable event," the court observed. It said teachers shape the future of students and committing such an offence against them while they are imparting education was "very serious".

TEACHER ASSAULTED INSIDE SCHOOL

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by teacher Prakash Bapu Salgar.

According to the prosecution, on August 20, 2010, around 10-12 people entered the school and asked for Salgar to be called to the headmaster's office. The group allegedly assaulted him with a stick, kicks and fist blows and smeared black ink on his face.

When in-charge headmaster Milind Channe intervened, he was allegedly pushed. Furniture and a window in the office were also damaged during the incident.

The accused were charged with assault, entering the school with the intention of causing hurt and other offences. The court, however, acquitted them of charges including wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and intentional insult.

COURT REJECTS DEFENCE ARGUMENTS

The accused denied the allegations and claimed they had been falsely implicated.

Their defence argued that Gawai, a divisional coordinator of the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena, had prepared a representation seeking action against Salgar for allegedly beating a student. The defence also cited delays in recording witness statements, non-seizure of CCTV footage and other articles, discrepancies in medical records and the absence of a test identification parade.

The court rejected these objections, holding that the evidence of Salgar, Channe and another eyewitness established the assault.

It also said the absence of a test identification parade was not fatal to the prosecution case because the victims identified the accused after their arrest and later in court.

'GRIEVANCE COULD HAVE BEEN RAISED LAWFULLY'

The court said the accused could have pursued their grievance through lawful means if they believed action should be taken against the teacher.

"When the accused had grievance against the action taken by the informant against one student, he could have raised such grievance in a lawful manner," the court observed. "But the law does not authorise anyone to intervene by forming an unlawful assembly and to commit the offence as committed by the accused."

The court further held that both the teacher and the headmaster were public servants and that the assault took place while they were performing their official duties.

It concluded that the accused had acted with the common objective of deterring the teacher from carrying out his duties.

- Ends