New details have emerged in the bullying case in the United States where an Indian-origin boy was almost choked to death by a White student. As per reports, the Coppell Middle School North in Texas has suspended the victim, student Shaan Pritmani for three days, while the bully got only a one-day suspension. It has been reported that the bully’s father, Sam Wellington used his influential position to save his son from harsher punishment.
Wellington had run for Place 7 on the Coppell Independent School District board of Trustees. Though he lost the election, he seems to have good connections with the school authorities making it possible for him to save his son from punishment.
Coppell ISD deactivated social media accounts
Since the report broke, Coppell ISD has so far deactivated two social media accounts, Twitter and Facebook.
A petition on change.org is being run to gather support for the Indian-origin student. The petition, started by Shaan’s mother, Sonika Kukreja, has gathered 2.7 lakh votes so far. In the petition, she said due to a lack of support from the Coppell ISD and Coppell PD, they were demanding the bully should be removed from the school with immediate effect.
Indian origin student assaulted in US school
A video had emerged on social media platforms in which an Indian-origin student could be seen being assaulted, and choked by a White student. The incident took place at Coppell Middle School North in Texas. The victim, Shaan Pritmani, was subjected to three days of suspension by the school, while the attacker, whose identity was not revealed, was only suspended for one day.
Shaan is seen in the video seated at the lunch table while another youngster urges him to leave. Shaan says, “No, I’m not getting up. There is literally no one sitting here.” The second student is subsequently seen attempting to choke Shaan while the latter winces in discomfort. Shaan is soon dragged from his seat and thrown to the floor by the attacker.
Shaan’s mother, Sonika Kukreja, shared the incident on Facebook, stating that her son, who is being choked and assaulted, is the one who got three days of suspension. “The school authorities refuse to take the matter with a sense of urgency and have not handled the situation well!” she added.
False narrative to smear Shaan’s image
As per members of the Coppell ISD Concerned Parents and Taxpayers Facebook group, a false narrative against Shaan is being run to discredit him over the incident, and to justify the school’s decision to unfairly punish the victim of bullying. A Facebook user Ram Mehta shared several screenshots of the stories that were getting circulated against Shaan and his parents.
It was being alleged in the stories that Shaan initially used racial slurs against the White student and spoke about assaulting his sister. One of the message even alleged that Shaan threatened to rape the aggressor’s sister. When the White student asked him to leave, he refused, which led to the altercation. However, it was mentioned that the bully has no sister.
