The footage of the assault was captured by a cell phone
It is impossible to watch the video without flinching, at the very least.
For nearly three minutes, three young visually challenged children are caned. The assaulter, allegedly their teacher, and also visually challenged, delivers blow upon blow. The children can be seen and heard screaming, begging to be spared.
In response, the teacher grabs hold of one of them and bangs his head against the floor. Another adult, not clearly visible in the footage, helps him assault the children, all younger than 10.
The video has become public today but who filmed it two days ago using a cellphone is not yet clear. The police in Kakinada, over 650 km from the state capital of Hyderabad, says the man who is seen caning the children runs the Greenfield Residential School for visually challenged children. He has been arrested; so has the school principal.
Police sources said that after the video surfaced, the two men were attacked by protestors today; the beating stopped when the police arrived to arrest them.
The state's Child Rights Commission is investigating the horrific incident. Who funds the school is not clear so far; sources said it is run as a charitable institution.
Sources say there are 62 children enrolled at the school, which is residential. The district administration has not yet taken a call on whether the children should be moved out.