A six-year-old boy died after being allegedly beaten up by his school teacher this morning over homework.

According to officials of Vizag One Town Police Station, where a case has been registered, police have taken CCTV footage from a camera in the classroom that shows the teacher slapping the boy. The incident occurred around 9 am.

“After a few slaps, the boy started crying and then collapsed unconscious in the arms of the teacher. She tried to wake him up and then went to get help. They rushed him to King George Hospital, where he succumbed. The cause of death will be known if a postmortem is conducted, but the boy’s parents are against it,” an official said.

A family member said that instead of informing the parents, whose phone numbers were available with the class teacher as well as the school authorities, the school staff took him to KGH and noted in the admission note that he collapsed while playing on the school grounds.

“The school does not have a ground. The school authorities should show us where the ground is. Police have taken CCTV visuals of the boy being beaten in class. The teacher pulled his shirt roughly,” Parvatiamma, a family member, said.

Devastated parents and relatives staged a demonstration at the hospital demanding the immediate arrest of the school teacher.

“We want justice. We want the school teacher to receive the harshest punishment. There are rules that teachers are not supposed to hit students. Who knows how many students their teachers are beating up daily? They call and harass parents if fee payment is delayed by even a day, but when a student falls unconscious after being beaten up, they do not even bother to inform,” she said.

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The teacher told the parents and police that she did not slap that hard and that she only did so when he did not answer her for several minutes when she asked him why the homework was not done.

Police said that they have registered a case and that the teacher could be taken into custody.