A Class VIII student of a state-aided south Calcutta school was hospitalised on Thursday after he and five other boys were allegedly slapped hard and hit on the back by a teacher for “smiling” in class.

Sources said Souvik Chatterjee of Jadavpur High School vomited and collapsed on a bench after being allegedly struck by his Bengali teacher Sushanta Naskar during the sixth period of the day, prompting the authorities to rush him to the nearby KPC Medical College and Hospital.

Souvik’s condition was described as stable on Friday, but the school was in a spot with guardians staging a demonstration and demanding stringent action against Naskar.

Headmaster Pronab Kumar Majhi apologised on behalf of the institution and promised to ensure that no teacher inflicted corporal punishment on students.

Majhi said the school’s managing committee would meet on Monday to decide what action to initiate against Naskar, who was unavailable for comment.

This is the second instance of corporal punishment in a city school since the government proposed a set of rules to implement the ban. Three students of Shyambazar AV School were caned by a teacher last week, allegedly for scoring low in a unit test. The teacher apologised.

School education minister Partha De said he was appalled to hear about a second such incident in a week. “This won’t be tolerated. Stern action will be taken,” he told Metro.

Although Souvik’s family or the parents of the other five boys are yet to lodge a complaint, cops did pay a visit to the school and the hospital, a senior officer confirmed.

Souvik said from his hospital bed that Naskar first targeted his friends for being inattentive in class, but turned on him after seeing him smile. “Sir hit me so hard that I slumped to the ground. When I stood up, Sir pushed me and I fell down again. I don’t remember what happened next.”

Doctors said an X-ray revealed no serious injuries, though Souvik still has a backache. Mother Banasree said she shuddered to think that “it could have been far worse ”.

She and her husband apparently didn’t file a complaint because the school admitted their son to hospital.

Police complaint

Two students of Panchla Jaynagar Pallishree Vidyaniketan in Howrah have lodged a complaint with Panchla police station against their headmaster Biplab Manna for allegedly caning them for loitering on the terrace of the school building. Police have started an investigation.