Beaten up by tutor, Rinki dies after 3 months in coma

Rinki fainted in class on November 3 after Mehta assaulted her with a stick since she had stopped attending his tuition classes. When she came to, Mehta warned Rinki from complaining against him. But a week later, Rinki began to get headaches and blurted out to her father Naresh Kumar that she had been beaten in school.

A few days later she fainted again and was taken to a nearby hospital. Doctors examining her realised that the beating had aggravated an existing nerve disorder Rinki had sustained from an accident three weeks ago. A senior doctor said, “After the assault, blood clots formed in her brain. She was operated upon but her condition remained critical. She slipped into a coma on January 7 from which she did not recover.”

Her father Naresh Kumar leased out the family home in east Delhi to continue Rinki’s treatment. He changed hospital looking for senior doctors who could make his daughter better. In between — for almost two months — Kumar also pleaded with police officers to lodge a case against teacher Mehta, who taught English and Mathematics in the Dinkar National Public School in Kondli. A case of assault was finally lodged, but on January 16, nearly two months after the incident.

The police took some more time to verify the charges, during which the school authorities put forward their version stating the girl had fallen sick, as she still suffered from the after-effects of that accident three years ago.

After Rinki passed away, Naresh Kumar made a fresh complaint holding Mehta guilty of worsening her medical condition. He alleged that his beating had triggered a neurological complication in his daughter’s brain which led to her death. Finally, a case of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ was registered against Mehta. The police are also on the lookout for the teacher.

The Class X student died in the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi. Rinki leaves behind her parents, two sisters and a brother. After her body was released, the family and neighbours held a half hour of protests at Kondli Chowk before she was cremated.