The headmaster and an assistant teacher of a private boarding school at Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district have allegedly beaten up a Class IX student and confined him to a room for four hours.

The student who suffered from breathlessness wasn’t provided with treatment. A few school officials helped the boy come out of the room.

The incident occurred on July 11 at the Guidance Academy in Talai village. It came to light only after the father of the student lodged an FIR at the Raghunathganj police station on Sunday afternoon.

In his complaint, the resident of Khagraghat said assistant teacher Manisha Acharya had first mercilessly beaten up his son with a stick for asking for “guidance” regarding some coursework.

After Acharya allegedly beat him, the boy was summoned by headmaster Sahabuddin Sheikh to his chamber. His father alleged that the headmaster had also beaten up the boy.

The headmaster kept the student detained in a room for about four hours until some school officials rescued him, the father said in his complaint.

Recounting the incident, the student said: “During our geography class, Manisha madam hit me with a stick when I asked her for guidance on some specific issues. She got angry suddenly and began beating me up and stopped only when I was struggling to breathe. After that, the head sir called me to his office. He shut the door and thrashed me mercilessly. He then locked me up in a room for four hours even though I was injured and had difficulty breathing.”

Using the phone of a school employee, the boy called up his father the following day and requested him to visit him. When his father came, the headmaster allegedly refused to allow him to meet his son.

The student’s father, a farmer by profession, said: “My son was mercilessly beaten up without any provocation. He was kept confined to a room despite multiple injuries. The head sir threatened him with more thrashing if he dared to inform me. I am wondering how teachers could be so inhuman to punish a student in such a way.”

“Even when I reached the hostel, the headmaster kept me waiting for several hours. When I heard everything, I was compelled to lodge a police complaint against the two teachers to seek justice for my son,” the farmer said.

The student was taken to a doctor, who advised an X-ray of his palms.

“My fingers are swollen, and I have bruises all over my body. The doctor suspects that I may have a broken finger bone and advised an X-ray,” the boy said.

Admitting to have indulged in corporal punishment, Sahabuddin Sheikh said: “It is our duty to discipline students. The student was indisciplined and didn’t heed our warnings. He was confined to my office because he needed restraint.”

Jangipur subdivisional police officer Prabir Mondal said: “Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation. Legal action will be taken if the allegations are substantiated.”