POLICE RAID VICEPRINCIPAL’S RESIDENCE

ALLAHABAD :The Civil Lines police on Sunday raided the residence of St Joseph’s College vice-principal Father Leslie Benedict Cutinha who is accused of hitting a student in his eye.

The raids follow an FIR lodged at Civil Lines police station on Friday on the complaint of class 12 student Shervyn Terrence Jude LaRiviere’s mother Sheronne LaRiviere, a teacher at Bishop Johnson School and College. Circle officer Civil Lines DP Tiwari said the raids were carried out at the vice-principal’s residence but he was not found there. A police team was also sent to the college but returned empty handed.

Abhibhavak Ekta Samiti (Guardians’ Committee) state president Vijay Gupta demanded immediate arrest of the vice-principal. He said a copy of the FIR against the vice-principal had been sent to the human rights and child right commissions. Shervyn and three of his friends were queuing up for morning assembly and had the school bags still hanging from their shoulders on May 9.

This reportedly upset the school vice-principal, who first pulled them up for failing to put the bags on the ground as per the practice, and then allegedly hit them with a cane. Shervyn’s mother Sheronne LaRiviere, claimed the boy fell on the ground bleeding from his right eye while the vice-principal returned to his office. Two of Shervyn’s teachers noticed his injury and raised an alarm.

District magistrate Sanjay Kumar has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The DM has set up a three-member committee comprising additional district magistrate (city) Puneet Shukla, additional SDM (Sadar) Rinki Jaiswal and district inspector of schools Komal Yadav to probe the incident and submit its report to him within three days