Mumbai Crime: Teachers of Kandivali pre-school remanded to police custody for thrashing children

Pic/Samiullah Khan

The Kandivali police on Wednesday arrested the two teachers of a Rhymes and Rumbles play school for allegedly mistreating, hitting, and head-slapping toddlers.

After more than three weeks, both the teachers were arrested on Thursday and the duo was produced before the Borivli Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

The court remanded them one-day police custody, informed an officer from Kandivali police station.

The duo teacher has been identified as Jinal Cheda and Bhakti Shah. They were booked under section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (Punishment for cruelty to a juvenile or child).

One parent Kaushal Zaveri (35) realised sudden aggressive changes in the behavior of his child. As per the statement given to the police, Zaveri asked other parents whose kids were also in the preschool about any change in their kid's behavior. Parents of the kids had also realised sudden aggression in their kids.

More than 25 children aged between two-and-half years old and above, were studying in the preschool.

All the parents complained to the preschool management on March 27. The management took the matter seriously and watched every CCTV camera footage inside and outside it. They were shocked to see two of their teachers mistreating the complainant's son and other kids. All parents then approached the police and registered a complaint.

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During the investigation, it was revealed the duo teachers were seen hitting the kids, throwing them on the floor, pinching their cheeks hard, and even hitting them on their heads with books the officer added.

"We analyzed the video recordings provided by the parents of the students. As per the Supreme Court guideline, the accused needs to be given notice in a case where the punishment is less than seven years. So following the procedure, we have given them notice 41A (of CrPC)," said the police officer.

Meanwhile, the accused approached the session court for the Anticipatory Bail Application (ABA) and when the session court rejected their ABA the duo approached the high court.

The ABA of accused Bhakti Shah was rejected by the High Court yesterday, while accused Jinal Cheda withdrew the ABA application and surrendered before the Kandivali police, said a family friend of accused Cheda.

Speaking with mid-day, on the condition of anonymity, a friend of the accused said, "The matter is very sensitive, and the parents were constantly pressurising the police to arrest them, as well as threatening the accused to blacken their faces, this was the reason that they had applied for interim bail from the court to avoid arrest and today they surrender before the police."

Meanwhile, the people of both families were going through a lot of mental stress. The reporter tried to approach the family member and relatives but they refused to talk.

Accused's advocate Surendra Landge, says, "When four people in a family are not the same, then how these children can be? Some children have a calm nature while some are naughty. Mostly teachers are very strict with naughty children so that it doesn't affect the calmness of other children. The intention of these teachers was not wrong."

After the arrest of these two teachers, the parent feels little satisfaction and says gratefully that the first step has been taken toward justice.

"The arrested accused were produced before the court and remanded in one-day police custody. Further investigation is underway," said senior inspector Dinkar Jadhav of Kandivali.

"We are now trying to find out whether any other person except two teachers, was involved in mistreating the kids, and if found so will arrest took action against them too, he added.