Indian American boy bullied at Texas school

AN Indian American boy was held in a chokehold and allegedly bullied by a white student in a school in Texas, according to media reports. The incident happened during lunch at Coppell Middle School North in Texas on May 11.

In a viral video, the boy sitting at a table is seen being put in a headlock by a white student, the report said. The white student can be seen asking the Indian American boy to get up from his seat.

When the boy refused, he was choked and forcefully removed from the seat. Though other students could be heard reacting to the violence but not stopping it, reports said.

‘It was horrible. I couldn't sleep for three nights straight. It felt like I was being choked. I cried many times watching it,' said Sonika Kukreja, mother of the student put in the headlock.

The authorities, however, chose to punish the Indian American student harshly by suspending him for three days while the aggressor received a suspension of one day, parents Kukreja and Kamlesh Pritmani said.

‘I am deeply concerned about the safety of our children and the message our school board, our police department, is sending out by not acting on this,' said Kukreja. ‘We need fair treatment for every kid and we need that bullying to be stopped,' said Pritmani.

In an email to parents, Coppell ISD's Superintendent Dr Brad Hunt said in part, ‘Coppell ISD is aware of a video circulating on social media showing an incident at the school involving a physical altercation between two students. Bullying, both verbal and physical, as well as physical acts of aggression are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values.'

The email said the incident is being investigated and addressed by the school and the district according to the CISD Student Code of Conduct. Marwa Elbially, the attorney for the Pritmani family, denies the accusations and said the violence should never have happened.

‘The school can preach all it wants that they're antibullying and place it on their website, but they are sending a message to this kid and the rest of the student body that this behavior is acceptable,' said Elbially.

An online petition supporting the Indian boy received more than 150,000 signatures.