Dibrugarh: The parents of a Class V student here have lodged a complaint against the art teacher of his school for allegedly beating the boy and fracturing his hand for not bringing his drawing book.

"We have received a complaint against Sanat Kumar Deori, the art teacher of Santipara Bengali Lower Primary School. We will take action as per law,'' an officer of Dibrugarh police station, Assam, said on Saturday.

"Our son, Prince Sarkar, came back home with severe pain in his right hand on Wednesday. We immediately rushed him to hospital where doctors said his right hand was fractured. We subsequently filed a complaint against Deori on Friday,'' Prince's father Pronab Sarkar said, adding that they had also informed the deputy inspector of schools.

"If our son does something wrong, the teacher should tell us. Why did he have to hit our son for not bringing a book?'' Sarkar asked.

Deori said, "When I entered the class, the students were creating a ruckus. They did not listen when I asked them to quieten down. Prince had not brought his drawing book and was making noise. I lost my temper and beat him. I did not intend to fracture his hand.''

Headmistress Gita Nandi said she was unaware of the incident since she was on leave. "It is unfortunate. We will look into the matter and take steps as per our guidelines." she added.

She said Prince had secured A grade in the recently concluded Gunotsav. "He is naughty but good in studies." she added.

Sources said there had been complaints earlier against Deori for beating up students. "He is very rude and beats up students when they do not listen to him. Last year, a student suffered severe injuries after Deori beat him up,'' a source said.

The Supreme Court had banned corporal punishment in 2000. Physical punishment or mental harassment is also banned under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.