In another case of corporal punishment in the Telugu states, a Class 10 student suffered severe head injuries after his teacher hit him with a duster in Hyderabad's Jagadgirigutta on Tuesday.

According to reports, the boy was beaten for being absent for three days due to an illness and being unable to pay a fine. He was rushed to a private hospital on Wednesday, where he underwent a surgery and was put on ventilator support.

The Times of India reported:

The Jagadgirigutta police have booked the erring teacher, Ramadevi of Rajadhani School at Asbestos Colony of Jagadgirigutta, for assaulting and injuring the student, Suresh. The student is recuperating at the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) of the hospital. 

"According to the boy's family, Ramadevi asked Suresh to pay fine for not attending classes and he sought time to pay the amount. The teacher turned furious and hit him on the head with a duster," Jagadgirigutta sub-inspector (SI) G Murali Kumar told TOI.

The Deccan Chronicle reported that school officials denied the allegations and said that the teacher had not assaulted but only scolded the student.

Speaking to DC, Suresh's father, Ramjanam Prasad, said, “My wife had gone to school with my son. His teacher asked my wife to stand outside and called my son inside. She must have hit him two-three times. When he came out, he told my wife that the teacher hit him and had asked for a Rs 500 fine. Soon he started vomiting and collapsed. He was then rushed to hospital, where doctors suggested that a surgery had to be done to remove the blood clot. My son was perfectly healthy and it is because of the teacher’s assault that he suffered the injury.”

The police have booked a case and further investigation is on.