Hyderabad:
A 13-year-old in Hyderabad has been missing since Monday evening; his parents allege that he disappeared after his Maths teacher scolded and beat him for scoring poorly in an exam.
The school has denied charges of abuse, but the State Commission for Child Rights has said the school and the teacher must be investigated by the police.
Krishna Rao and Rama Devi say they saw their son, Girish, at 4pm on Monday, when he left for his tuition class.
Earlier in the day, the boy had been allegedly beaten by his maths teacher at the private school where he studies, but he did not reveal this to them. His friends revealed this after Girish went missing.
"He left at 4pm on Monday. He has still not returned. The maths teacher beat him severely. We are very worried," said Girish's parents to NDTV. "The child was abused in school and that is why the heartbroken child has gone missing," said Achyut Rao, a member of the State Commission for Child Rights.
The school principal says the Maths teacher did not attack the child, but asked for a meeting with his parents to discuss his poor marks. He also pointed out that the teen did go home from school and went missing only after leaving for an after-school private tuition class.
"He already left for home from school and when he went missing, he was not even in the school uniform. So how can the school be blamed and answerable," said Y Narender, principal and main administrator of the school.