Girl rushed to KEM hospital after forced to do 500 sit-ups by school principal

A 13yearold girl who was asked to do 500 situps in a Kolhapur school was yesterday rushed to KEM hospital after she fell seriously ill Three weeks after the brutal punishment the teenager is still not able to walk properly Meanwhile the school principal responsible for the abuse was granted bail within hours of being arrestedVijaya Chaugale cannot walk properly ever since her ordeal PicAshish RajeThe Std VIII student Vijaya Chaugale is no longer able to walk without support because of the tremors in her right leg ever since the cruel punishment she was given Upon arriving in Mumbai she told this paper I had forgotten my project at home The principal asked me to do 500 situps and I managed 300 After that all I remember that I fell down and was taken to hospitalVijaya Chaugale cannot walk without support because of the cruel punishmentThe horrific incident took place at Bhavesuri Sandesh Vidhyalaya in Kanur village Chandgad taluka On November 24 Vijaya was supposed to submit a project in class Since the teacher was absent that day the school principal Ashwini Devan began checking the students assignmentsPrincipal Ashwini DevanSix students including Vijaya did not submit the project Principal Devan told them to do 500 situps Few students gave up after 50 squats some even managed 100 But Vijaya went on to do 300 situps before she collapsed on the ground Her father Ramesh Chaugale is a peon at the same school and Vijayas friends rushed to inform him of her conditionRamesh recalled Some girls from Vijayas class told me that she had collapsed I rushed her to the nearest private hospital During the eight days she was admitted there my wife kept telling me to complain to the police It was difficult to go against the school because I am a peon there But my wife asked me who is more important the job or our daughter Finally my wife went to the police station herself but the cops only filed a noncognisable offence This is wrong and the principal should be punished Ramesh addedIn great painMeanwhile Vijayas condition was no better Not only is her right leg unable to support her but it keeps twitching and jerking involuntarily even when shes seated or lying down Her father said Despite treatment she has not recovered and is in a lot of pain We hope she will get better and be able to walk properly soon It took the family 10 hours to make the journey from their village to KEM hospital and they had to change ambulances six times The ambulance expenses and the medical fees are being paid by the familys friends and relatives for nowCop speakSince the police did not take their complaint seriously earlier the parents visited DIG Vishwas NangarePatil after which an FIR was filed at Chandgad police station Speaking to midday Ashok Pawar senior inspector at Chandgad police station said After we learnt that the girls condition had become serious we filed a complaint and arrested the principal The girl seems to have been traumatised by the incident The principal was granted bail the same dayThe other sidePrincipal Devan told midday It was the last day to submit the Hindi project Since they had not completed the project I may have told the students to do situps but I did not ask them to do 500 Vijaya was unwell before the incident when she fell I called her fatherCatch up on all the latest Mumbai National and International news hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go