A 10-year-old girl - Deepika Patel - has been struggling for her life for the last eight days because her teacher slapped her below the ear during tuition class in Mumbai's Nalasopara. The teacher hit her a few days ago, causing an infection in her right ear. The class five student's condition remains critical. Deepika has been kept on the ventilator in the ICU of KJ Somaiya Hospital in Sion due to critical brain damage, tetanus and breathing problems.
On October 5, Deepika's father filed a complaint against 20-year-old teacher Ratna Singh at Tulinj police station. He stated in the complaint that the teacher slapped her for making fun in the class.
According to the complaint, her mother went to the tuition center and spoke to the teacher about her health. The teacher said she slapped Deepika because she was troubling other children.
Deepika's father took her to Balaji Clinic in Tulinj where she was given medicines. When they returned home in the evening, he noticed swelling near Deepika's ear. According to the girl's father, after a few days, her health started deteriorating further due to which she was not even able to open her mouth to eat food. After this, the family got worried and they took the girl directly to a government hospital on a bike but due to the lack of ICU bed there, the family admitted the girl to KJ Somaiya Hospital.
The girl's family said the daily expense of her treatment is about Rs 25,000 per day which is beyond their capacity. The family did not get any support from the accused or the tuition class.
Currently, the family is getting help from a social organisation and they demand that along with the teacher, action should be taken against the classes (institution) as well.
On the basis of the father's complaint, the police registered a case against the teacher under the Juvenile Justice Act and Child Protection Act.
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