LODHRAN: A schoolteacher was booked on Tuesday for forcing a minor boy to eat grass over his failure to learn a lesson at the Government Primary School, Fatehpur.

A video went viral on social media, showing seven-year-old Kashan, a student of pre-school, being forced to either eat grass or read out the lesson in front of his class fellows. The video clip shows Kashan forgetting his lesson and eating grass after being forced by his teacher, identified as Hamid Raza.

The teacher is working in the school on a contract basis. Muhammad Asghar, the father of Kashan, told Dawn that the incident happened two days back.

“The teacher is our relative and we forgive him for his act that he did as a joke,” Mr Asghar said.

District Police Officer Malik Jameel Zafar took notice of the incident and directed the police to investigate into the video. He ordered strict action if the teacher was found guilty.

After the investigation, the Jalla Arain Police Station lodged a first information report (FIR) against Hamid on the complaint of Asghar, the father of the child. However, Asghar told Dawn that he would forgive the teacher in court as well. The police conducted a raid at his house to arrest him and he was not home.

Lodhran education chief executive officer Abdul Razzaq told Dawn he would look into the matter and take action against the teacher.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2019