As one of the most reputed schools in city, La Martiniere for Boys, is under scrutiny over corporal punishment, other parents are still running from pillar to post seeking justice for their children who died after being hit by their teachers.

The last two years have seen two such cases. But both the teachers allegedly involved are still at large.

One of the victims was Iftesam Chaudhury (8), a student of Class II in Vidya Bharati School, Mominpur, who died on November 28, 2008. She was allegedly hit by her yoga teacher Anita Das on November 27 and went into coma. After nearly 36 hours, she succumbed to her injuries.

“Even twenty months after the incident, I am waiting for justice for my only daughter,” said her father Arun Chaudhury. “The police did not arrest the teacher and even now, there is a dispute on what charges should be levelled against her.” He is still not aware of what happened on the afternoon of November 27. Iftesam’s classmates had said the teacher had banged her head against a wall.

Chaudhury had lodged a complaint with Ekbalpur police against the school authorities. But no arrest was made, and the school was not penalised either.

Das, a part-time yoga teacher, was removed. The CJM court, Alipore, granted her anticipatory bail in December 2008. Chaudhury then moved the High Court, alleging negligence on part of the police.

After a series of hearings, Justice Sanjib Banerjee disposed of the case, directing the parents to move the criminal court. Justice Banerjee also imposed a fine of Rs 17,000 on the state government for not giving reply to the court in due time.

Chaudhury filed an appeal in the Division Bench of the High Court, challenging the order.

Additional Advocate General Nisith Ranjan Adhikary had appealed to the the Division Bench headed by then Chief Justice S S Nijjar that the police take the case to trial court for justice.

After a few months, Chaudhury filed three separate petitions in the CJM Court, Alipore. All three were rejected.

Chaudhury’s counsel, advocate Tapas Bhanja, said he will soon file an appeal of criminal revision in the High Court. 0

In a similar incident on May 15, 2009, Babli Ghosh (11) a student of Class V at Andal Girls High School, Burdwan, died after a teacher, Rekha Bhagat, hit her on the head with a duster. In this case too, the police failed to arrest the teacher.

Bhagat moved High Court for anticipatory bail, which was rejected. The court directed that the police lodge the case under Section 302 IPC instead of Section 304 IPC and prosecute Bhagat after taking her into custody.

But police have so far have failed to arrest Bhagat. “The teacher is absconding,”said R Rajshekharan, the Superintendent of Police, Burdwan. Advocate Bhanja,who brought the issue of corporal punishment in schools to the High Court, said it was banned by a court order in 2004.

“After hearing a PIL, a Division Bench headed by former Chief Justice Ashoke Kumar Mathur had said that caning or corporal punishment was barbaric act in the 21st Century,” he said. “The court banned corporal punishment by an order on February 6, 2004. But the practice has not stopped.”