Mumbai: Teacher, assistant held for giving students forced haircuts

Two staff members of a private school have been arrested for forcibly giving students haircuts as a punishment.

Physical education teacher Milind Zanake and office assistant Tushhar Gore of Vikhroli ' Kamal Vasudev Vayakule English Medium School' decided to teach a group of 25 students a lesson for failing to follow the prescribed haircut.

Students said that, "We were humiliated and some of us also suffered minor cuts. The teacher held our heads down and chopped clumps of hair as punishment."

Ravindra Vishnu Salve, one of the students' parent, told ANI, "The staff needs to be punished as this is the cruelest act ever by any school. This is a bad example for other schools in the state. None of the parents have come up and spoken to the school authority about this incident. We hope that such an act should not be repeated".

Zanake and Gore were immediately arrested.

The police has booked Zanake and Gore under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 335 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt on provocation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and section of 75 (cruelty to child meted out by the custodian) of the Juvenile Justice Act.

-ANI