Udupi: Man arrested for brutally beating up two school children

Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Sep 22: A man accused of brutally beating up school children was arrested by Padubidri police on Saturday September 21.

The arrested has been identified as Firoz (38), residing at Padubidri Kanchinadka. He has been produced in the court.

Sources said that Firoz is a rowdy sheeter. Another source said that he is also a gram panchayat member.

The victims have been identified as Nauman (7) and Sihaan (6), children of Abbedi residents Nawaz and Khairunnisa. They are students of class 1 and 2 at Padubidri Urdu school.

It is learnt that on September 18, at around 8. 30 am, Firoz allegedly beat up the children who were waiting for the school vehicle. He thrashed them with wire, causing injuries on their backs, faces, necks, it is learnt. It is also said that he later left the children to school in the same auto rickshaw and returned.

After the children reached their classroom, they narrated the incident to their classmates. The students brought this to the notice of the school headmaster.  The headmaster informed the parents of the children, who then approached the panchayat. Some of the locals who were angered at the incident even clicked pictures of the wounds sustained by the children and shared them on Whatsapp to garner public support against the accused.

On hearing about the incident, Udupi district child welfare committee took up the matter. Under the leadership of Yellappa, member of child protection unit of women and child welfare committee visited the Padubidiri police station and the school and also submitted full details about the incident to the child welfare committee.

Following the incident, headmaster of the school Syed Shafi filed a complaint against the accused in Padubidri police station, based on which Firoz was arrested by Padubidri inspector Azmat Ali. He has been remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.