Bishal Roy shows the hand, which was caned. Picture by Nityananda Sarkar

Raiganj, May 30: The father of a Class V student here has filed a police complaint against the authorities of a private school after the 11-year-old was caned till his hands bled for failing to complete his homework.

South Point Modern High School has made it clear that the ban on corporal punishment was applicable to government institutions only.

“Caning is necessary for discipline, and to keep the students in check, we do beat them sometimes. Yesterday, the caning was a bit too intense. But we gave first aid to the boy,” said headmaster Prodip Das.

He added that he was not present in school when the incident occurred.

Shambhu Gowala, who had struck Bishal Roy, said the problem arose since the cane had snapped. “That is why his fingers bled. But we put medicines on them. Moreover, the ban on beating is applicable to government schools only. We do not come under its purview.”

Bishal said he went to school yesterday a bit under the weather.

“Sir entered the class in the fourth period and inquired about those who had not finished their homework. It turned out that I and five others had not done it. Sir slapped the others and let them go, but he went to the office and brought a cane and started thrashing me. He did not stop even after the cane broke,” Bishal said.

Gowala stopped only after the broken end of the cane drew blood.

“He then called me to the staff room where he washed my hand with water.”

At home, Bishal’s arms and knuckles started aching from the evening.

He was taken to the Raiganj District Hospital for treatment. The hospital suggested that the family consult a surgeon.

One of Bishal’s classmates said the teachers used canes on students freely. “But yesterday, Bishal was beaten up like one beats up a thief. It went on and on. We were scared ,” he said.

Enquiries revealed that around 100 boys and girls study in the school till Class VIII.

The Telegraph saw that all classrooms had a cane each and so did the headmaster’s office, where quite a few had been lined up.

Bishal’s father, Arbind Roy, said the school had refused to accept a complaint from him. “And my son was scared to go back. It was then that I decided to file a police complaint,” Roy said.

Pradip Chakrabarty, the inspector-in-charge of Raiganj police station, said the incident would be probed.

District inspector of schools Tapan Kumar Basu said his hands were tied until someone complained to him.

When told that the school had applied for affiliation to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, Basu said if an inspection was ordered all aspects like infrastructure, faculty and discipline would be looked into.

“If we come across complaints of corporal punishment it will be incorporated in the report that will be sent to the board,” the district inspector of schools said.