The parents and grandparents of Ishani Bhattacharya, who says she was caned by her teacher on February 13, were disturbed on Friday after she developed high fever and complained of uneasiness . She is being examined by a local doctor, who has advised her complete rest.

On the other hand, the authorities of Sunny Preparatory School, in Behala, which Ishani attends, said some guardians of other students had submitted a memorandum to the officer-in- charge of Behala police station, contradicting the complaint lodged by Ishani’s parents.

The officer-in-charge, however, denied receiving any such deputation. “I have no knowledge of any such deputation. It’s all rubbish. I have already sought permission from the sub-divisional judicial magistrate to start prosecuting the teacher,” he said.

Six-year-old Ishani, a student of Class I, says she was hit “on the back” by Kasturi Ghosh, a teacher of her class, with a “heavy wooden ruler” on February 13. Since then, she has not been attending school for fear of another beating. The teacher has denied beating her.

Pradip Bhattacharya, Ishani’s grandfather, said that since Friday morning, the girl has been complaining of uneasiness. “We immediately called a doctor, who examined her and found she was running a high fever. She has also been vomiting. But what has pained us even more is that nobody from the school has called up to ask why the child isn’t in class,” he lamented.

School administrator R.K. Bharatiya said the school authorities had asked Ishani’s family over for talks to sort out the problem, but there had been no response from that end.

“Now, the incident has taken a different twist. Today, about 300 guardians signed a memorandum and submitted it to the officer-in-charge of Behala police station, protesting against the complaint lodged against the teacher. They have even decided to intensify the movement if any action is taken against her,” Bharatiya claimed.

Teacher Kasturi Ghosh reiterated that she had not beaten the student. “I think it’s all being done to tarnish the image of the school,” she said.