No action against principal after arrest, says La Martiniere

Kolkata: A day after its principal was arrested and then granted bail, La Martiniere School in Kolkata has said he has not been suspended and will report to work as usual.

Sunirmal Chakravarthi was arrested on Monday, along with three teachers, by the Kolkata police. He was accused of physical assault and using a sharp weapon to attack one of his students, 13-year-old Rouvan Rawla. The teachers - Lionel Gunnion, Partha Dutta and David Royan - have been charged with slapping the child.  

The child was found hanging at his home in February four days after Chakravarthi caned him.

Rouvan's father, Ajay Rawla, believes that the principal is guilty of abetment to suicide. Ajay Rawla has said the teachers and principal tortured and humiliated his child so severely that Rouvan was driven to kill himself.  The Kolkata police said there is no evidence to prove this.  Earlier this year, an inquiry by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) agreed with Rouvan's father.

The school's management says that till charges are proved against Chakravarthi and the three teachers, they will be treated as innocent.

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In an interview to NDTV earlier this year, Chakravarthi admitted to canning Rouvan for letting off stink bombs in his class. However, he stressed that to hold him responsible for the teen's death would be "a stretch."