MEERUT: A seven-year-old Class 3 student became blind after she was allegedly slapped by the principal of her school in Moradabad around one month ago, said her mother Jyoti Kashyap. On Tuesday, Kashyap approached Moradabad district magistrate Anuj Singh seeking assistance for her daughter’s treatment at AIIMS Delhi.
Kashyap claimed the principal of the govt primary school also “manhandled” her when she confronted her about the incident. She added, “The principal slapped my daughter on her face, causing her severe discomfort and subsequent blindness. She was being treated in Moradabad, but as her condition worsened, she was referred to AIIMS Delhi. However, the waiting time there was too long.” Following her complaint, Singh directed Moradabad’s chief medical officer to address the issue as per norms.
TOI accessed a diagnosis report by Dr P K Pandey, an ophthalmologist in Moradabad, which stated that the girl suffers from optic atrophy, a condition where the optic nerve deteriorates, resulting in vision loss.
Moradabad Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Vimlesh Kumar, has launched a probe against the school principal. However, he claimed the girl already had an eye ailment and told TOI, “Preliminary investigations suggest the student was suffering from an eye disease that worsened after she was hit by a fellow student. However, we will thoroughly investigate the case and comment after the report comes in.” He ordered the inquiry report to be filed by Thursday evening.
The accused principal was unavailable for comment despite multiple attempts by TOI.
