A Class VI student was allegedly tortured and beaten up by his Class IX seniors at a school in Mayurbhanj district.

The matter came to light after the victim’s parents lodged a complaint about their son’s ragging on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on February 20 at the Basipitha tribal school under Khunta police station in Mayurbhanj district, about 260 km from Bhubaneswar. The residential school teaches students from Class VI to Class X.

According to the complaint, some Class IX students were consuming alcohol when they were spotted by the victim who informed the headmaster, following which the senior students were reprimanded.

The senior students later took the boy to the rooftop of the school building and beat him with an iron rod. The victim alleged that they even cut his hand with blades and rubbed salt on his wound. They had also threatened to kill him.

The victim’s father, Manoranjan Behera, said: “My son has been living in a state of shock for the last one and half month. When we insisted, he told us about the torture meted out to him. We want the guilty to be punished.”

Headmaster Diptikanta Jena said: “We came to know about the incident on Wednesday after his parents reported the matter to the police.”

Khunta police station inspector-in-charge Panchanan Mohanty, said: “This is a serious matter. We will investigate the issue and take action against those involved in
the crime.”