The Andhra Pradesh education department has constituted a three-member committee to examine the cause of death of a six-year-old student who died after being allegedly beaten up by his teacher over homework in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

The committee comprises the Visakhapatnam Regional Joint Director (RJD), District Education Officer (DEO) and Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO). The committee will examine the circumstances under which the student fell unconscious and what the doctors at King George Hospital (KGH), where he was rushed to, have stated in their reports. Based on the committee’s report, action would be initiated against the teacher, DEO Prem Kumar said.

“We are taking legal action against those responsible (for the death), and the school management. Our government will stand by you (boy’s kin) in every possible way,’’ stated HRD and IT Minister N Lokesh Naidu.

Story continues below this ad

Lokesh has also asked the school education department to conduct workshops and programmes to sensitise teachers about not giving corporal punishment to students or harming them in any other way.

Meanwhile, a police team questioned school authorities for a second time on Friday.

Arrest the teacher: Boy’s father

The boy’s father K Prasad reiterated the demand to arrest the teacher before conducting inquiry. “The school authorities are trying to save themselves and the teacher. They even gave wrong information to the hospital. The teacher must be arrested and jailed,’’ he said.

On Thursday, 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 the boy to KGH and wrote in the admission note that he collapsed while playing on the school grounds.

Story continues below this ad

According to officials of Vizag One Town Police Station, where a case has been registered under sections dealing with death under suspicious circumstances, police have retrieved CCTV footage from a camera in the classroom that shows the teacher slapping the boy for not doing his homework. After a few slaps, the boy started crying before collapsing in the arms of the teacher, the footage showed. She is then seen trying to wake him up and then heading out to get help. The boy was rushed to King George Hospital, where he died.

The accused teacher told the parents and the police that she did not slap the boy “that hard”. She said she hit him when he did not answer her for several minutes when she asked him why he had not done his homework.