Paradip, Aug. 26: A teacher of a government-run school in Jagatsinghpur district was suspended on the charge of inflicting corporal punishment on an 11-year-old student last week.

The teacher allegedly caned the girl, resulting in her right arm being fractured. Police have registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code against him. He apparently hit her because she was unable to solve a math problem. Rozalini Shukla, a student of Class V at Gadabishapur school in Erasama block, fractured her right arm after Ramakanta Nayak, the teacher, beat her.

“Acting on the first information report (FIR) lodged by the victim’s mother Sanjukta Shukla, a case has been registered against Nayak. The girl was medically examined. We are waiting for the findings of examination before taking legal action against the culprit,” said Jagatsinghpur police chief Satyabrata Bhoi.

Jagatsinghpur district headquarters sources said the girl had been advised a month’s rest. The fracture will take about 45 days to heal.

Block education officer, Erasama, Bhimsen Biswal said: “It is an unfortunate incident. Teachers have been asked not to subject children to corporal punishment. After a departmental inquiry, the teacher has been placed under suspension.”

“It has often been found that teachers are not aware that corporal punishment has become a punishable offence. Teachers should attend workshops and learn the difference between child abuse and discipline,” said child rights activist Binayak Swain.