I am writing this letter to express, in the strongest
possible terms, our deep anguish and outrage over the appalling physical
assault suffered by our brother, Athonio Magh, a student of Class 10on the 20th
of February 2025. The incident, which has left a young boy hospitalised and
fighting for his life in the ICU. It is a heart-breaking reminder of the severe
consequences of unchecked bullying and administrative negligence.
- I came across your letter on social media. While your letter
dated April 4, 2025, outlines the steps taken by the school after the matter
came to light, it is deeply disappointing, and unacceptable, that the school
management appears to distance itself from the core of the problem by citing
that the assault took place outside the school premises and thereby awaiting on
third party verdict to act upon.
- Allow me to make it unequivocally clear:
- The seeds of this horrific act of violence were sown inside
the classrooms of Don Bosco Hr. Sec. School, within your very walls, under the
supposed watch of your teachers and staff. Athonio Magh was being bullied and
coerced for his tiffin, a practice that was apparently happening repeatedly
within the school environment. It was inside your classrooms, during school
hours, where his refusal to submit to this humiliation led to threats of
retaliation. And when those threats materialised violently outside the gates,
your institution cannot, in good conscience, wash its hands of responsibility.
- This is not just an incident of school violence, it is a grave
failure of your school’s duty of care, of basic supervision, and of timely
intervention. Had the school authority addressed the in-school bullying with
seriousness, monitored student behaviour, and responded to warning signs, this
heinous act could have been prevented. Today, a child is suffering in the ICU
with life-threatening injuries, gastrointestinal perforation, peritonitis, and
septic shock, because the system that should have protected him turned a blind
eye.
- We demand that the school take immediate and visible
accountability for the environment it allowed to fester. It is your
responsibility not just to secure the school compound, but to shape a culture
where cruelty is not normalised and silence is not the price of survival.
“Outside the school campus” is not an excuse when the trigger was pulled
inside.
- Let this letter serve as a public call for justice and
institutional reform. The least we expect is an apology issued to the victim
and his family, swift disciplinary action against the perpetrators at the
earliest, and the implementation of strict anti-bullying, anti-ragging measures
and counselling services to prevent such horrific events from recurring.
