Two brothers were tonsured by the staff of their school hostel as punishment for not attending classes, according to a complaint lodged by their father Sebastian Augustine.

Mr. Augustine is a construction labourer at Dodda Begur. He said in the complaint that the hostel warden humiliated his elder son, a class 10 student of St. Joseph’s Indian High School, by tonsuring him, for not attending classes on January 28. Besides, he did not allow him to wear a cap, which prompted him to run away from the hostel. The agitated school warden used the same trimmer the next day to shave the head of his younger son, a class 9 student, as well.

The school management, however, claimed that the boys’ heads were shaved for reasons of hygiene. Refuting this, Mr. Augustine said, “My sons told me that the warden has meted out similar punishment to more than 10 boys.”

Rector reacts

School Rector Anil D’Mello said that the heads of five boys were shaved in the school as they had dandruff. Besides, three other boys had gone to Velankani with their parents where they shaved their heads.

“Five boys, who live with us on the campus, had dandruff. So, we took their consent to shave their heads. It was not a punishment. Only one boy resisted it and had only a part of the head shaved and ran away. Perhaps, his father complained,” he said.

“This is a blatant human rights violation. In this case, the warden shaved the boys’ heads without even informing the school management. The police should take action against the warden as it amounts to corporal punishment,” said Gopinath, a social worker.

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has decided to take up a suo motu case and probe the issue.