Caught on camera: Ahmedabad teacher slaps Class 9 student six times; probe ordered

A teacher at Ahmedabad’s Sheth C N Vidyalaya slapped a Class 9 student six times inside a classroom, with CCTV footage of the incident going viral. The student’s father has sought strict action against the teacher, while the Ahmedabad city District Education Officer (DEO) has issued a notice to the school seeking an explanation.The incident took place in the school’s Class 9B classroom on October 14. The CCTV footage shows the teacher, identified as Ghanshyam Singh Dabhi, slapping the student repeatedly in front of other students.WHAT THE CCTV FOOTAGE SHOWSAccording to the CCTV footage, the incident occurred between 12.45 pm and 1 pm on October 14. The teacher was initially seen teaching students in Class 9B when he asked a boy sitting on the last bench to move to the first bench, apparently over something the student had done.The student then moved to the front bench, where he appeared to have a brief conversation with the teacher. The teacher subsequently resumed teaching the class, while the student sat listening to him. A short while later, the teacher approached the student and slapped him six times in succession before asking him to leave the classroom, the footage shows.FATHER SEEKS STRICT ACTION AGAINST TEACHERThe student's father wrote to the school principal the day after the incident, complaining about the teacher's conduct. He also submitted a complaint to the Ahmedabad city DEO, seeking strict action against the teacher. In his complaint, the father said the incident had left his son frightened. He alleged that the teacher's actions had caused the student physical and mental distress and could adversely affect children's mental development.The father called for strict action against the teacher to ensure that such an incident was not repeated with another student in the future.SCHOOL, DEO SEEK EXPLANATIONSheth C N Vidyalaya principal Dhaval Pathak confirmed that the teacher had slapped the student on October 14 and that the school received a complaint from the boy's father the following day.Pathak said the school had summoned the teacher and issued him a written notice. The school management will decide on further action after receiving the teacher's response.Ahmedabad city DEO Rohini Chaudhary said her office had received details of the incident from the student's father. The education department subsequently issued a notice to the school, asking why the teacher had slapped the student and what action had been taken so far.Chaudhary added that an education inspector would be sent to the school to investigate the incident. Further action against the teacher will be considered after the department receives the inquiry report and the school's response.- Ends