BENGALURU: The headmistress and a teacher were arrested for making backward students clean the school's septic tank. Head teacher Bharathamma and teacher Muniyappa were arrested. The incident took place at the Morarji Desai Residential School in Kolar, Karnataka. Four contract employees were dismissed in the incident. The complaint is that the students were made to go inside the septic tank and clean it by hand.

Various videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media. A video was also released where students were made to kneel with a heavy bag on their backs for a whole night. The video also shows a friend giving water to a student who was struggling to breathe. There are a total of 19 girls in the sixth and ninth classes in the school where 243 students study.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticized the incident. The social welfare department officials also found that the teachers had brutally beaten the students before. According to social welfare department officials, strict rules were introduced to prevent discrimination faced by backward students in the country 30 years ago, but such incidents continue still. Officials added that this causes health problems in children and also affects their mental condition.