9-Year-Old Boy Dead After Teacher Beat Him For Drinking Water From His Pot

A nine-year-old boy reportedly died after he was allegedly brutally beaten by his school teacher for drinking water from the suspect's pot in Jalore district, Rajasthan, India on Saturday, Aug. 13.

The underage victim, Indra Kumar, a 9-year-old boy and student who belongs to the Dalit caste, was reportedly seen drinking water from an earthen pot that had been kept aside for his teacher Chail Singh at Saraswati Vidya Mandir school in Jalore, Rajasthan, on July 20. Seeing the "lower-caste" child drink water from his pot, Singh, allegedly felt offended and brutally beat the boy while hurling classist slurs, Indian Express reported.

According to the victim's father Dewaram Meghwal, the boy bore injuries to his eyes and ears after the attack. The boy suffered serious bleeding from his ear and thereafter, couldn’t move one side of his body. The boy was admitted to hospitals in Jalore, Bhinmal, and Udaipur before he was referred to a hospital in Ahmedabad where he died during treatment on Saturday, Aug. 13.

"My son passed away today [Saturday] afternoon. Caste discrimination is responsible for his death,” Meghwal said.

Following the incident, the accused teacher has been arrested and charged with murder under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Meanwhile, a police team was sent to Ahmedabad to conduct the victim's autopsy.

"We filed cases under relevant sections. The teacher has been arrested and interrogated," an officer investigating the case said, NDTV reported.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed grief over the incident and said that he has instructed officials to investigate the violent crime. He added that an amount of US$6,279 (500,000 Indian rupees) will be given to the victim's family from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund as assistance and promised that justice will be ensured at the earliest.

The state education department has also initiated an inquiry into the matter.