Father of Six-Year-Old Boy Who Died After Teacher's Slap Reveals He 'Insisted on Going to School'

A six-year-old boy has died after reportedly being struck by his teacher at a private school in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, with his father saying the child had insisted on going to class that morning before collapsing on campus.

The boy, named locally as Pranay Tej, had pressed to attend school on Thursday despite his family's initial hesitation, according to his father.

From a Normal School Run to a Hospital Call

The incident occurred at Little Garden School in the One Town area, where security camera footage captured a teacher hitting the child moments before he fell unconscious. He was rushed to King George Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Pranay's father said his son had shown no signs of illness before leaving home that day. 'In the morning around 8am, my son woke up and said he wanted to go to school. He insisted on going to school,' he told reporters.

According to the father, the family had briefly considered keeping him home, but given his upcoming exams, they decided to let him go, and the boy left as usual.

By early afternoon, the family received word that something had happened, though not from the school itself.

'No one from the school called me,' the father said. 'The local cooks who work near my brother-in-law's place called and informed me.'

A doctor later told the family the child had died roughly half an hour before reaching hospital, he added.

Available classroom CCTV footage reviewed by news outlets appears to show the teacher scolding and slapping Pranay Tej shortly before he collapsed. The boy's father, however, has separately alleged that the teacher struck him with a stick, saying this was what the family understood after reviewing CCTV footage at the school.

'She hit him with a stick, and due to shock and fear, he collapsed right there,' the father alleged. It was reported separately that footage it had accessed showed the teacher hitting the child, who then fell into her lap. The father rejected any suggestion his son had been unwell beforehand, saying he had 'no issues at all' and had woken up fine that morning.

Investigation Into Pranay Tej's Death

Police Inspector Pudi Vara Prasad told the Press Trust of India that a case had been registered following a written complaint from the boy's father.

'We have registered a case under Section 194 of the BNSS and launched an investigation,' he said, adding that the body was returned to the family once inquest and post-mortem procedures were completed.

'Once all relevant reports are received, we will determine the exact cause of death,' Prasad said. Revenue Divisional Officer Dilip Chakravarthy, who attended the hospital after being alerted, said officials were gathering full details of the incident.

Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh's education and IT minister, said on Facebook on Thursday that legal action would follow against those responsible, including the school's management.

Writing on X on Friday, he added, 'As a father, I can't get over what happened to little Pranay Tej. Corporal punishment has no place in our schools,' saying he had ordered a full investigation.

Family Alleges Wider Pattern at the School

The family has alleged the incident was not isolated, claiming other children had also been struck, and has demanded strict action once the allegations are established. Andhra Pradesh's education department called the incident extremely unfortunate.

It said a three-member committee, comprising the Visakhapatnam Regional Joint Director, the District Education Officer and the Revenue Divisional Officer, had been formed to examine the facts.The department added that sensitisation programmes for teachers were also being planned.

Corporal punishment remains officially banned in Indian schools, though a 2018 study by the NGO Agrasar found that roughly 80 per cent of low-income school children still experience it from teachers. Palla Srinivasa Rao, Andhra Pradesh state president of the Telugu Desam Party, told PTI the government had responded appropriately.

Police said the exact cause of Pranay's death would be confirmed once post-mortem reports were finalised.