The death of a child always triggers strong emotions. It becomes even more unsettling when the circumstances surrounding it are not natural. The death of a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Layyah, therefore, has evoked a strong media response.

Initial reports suggest that an angry teacher ‘tortured her to death’ over a missing notebook. Eyewitnesses claim that the teacher beat up the poor girl so brutally that she died a day later after vomiting blood. The teacher is to be strongly condemned for beating the child, and appears guilty as charged for violating the law that prohibits corporal punishment. However, it is another matter whether the teacher’s actions actually caused the child’s death. The latest information does not verify earlier claims that the girl died of wounds sustained during the punishment. Instead, a medical report made public on Saturday says the young student had a poorly routed, gangrenous intestine long before the teacher kicked her in the stomach. The beating might have aggravated her condition but there is so far no conclusive evidence. So, while the reprehensible action of the teacher in beating the child cannot be condoned, is she guilty as charged?

This raises another important question: does the media have the right to condemn someone as a criminal without a court verdict against them? The headlines have presented the teacher in this case as a ‘murderer’ without allowing the details of the case to become known. But this is not the only time the media has jumped the gun. Reporters have often assumed the role of investigators, prosecutors and judges. By doing so, they have made the job of the real investigators, prosecutors and judges difficult and the release and rehabilitation of alleged criminals almost impossible. The media should realise that sensitivity towards the accused is as important as being compassionate about the victims.