PESHAWAR, Oct 26: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department on Friday directed the provincial education and health departments to take disciplinary action against a schoolteacher who had severely tortured a student in Haripur and the concerned hospital staff who had discharged him from the hospital in unconscious condition as a favour the teacher.The home department has pointed out that the officer who had conducted inquiry into the incident has recommended that as the accused teacher was behind bars, the authorities of elementary and secondary education department might be directed to take departmental action against him and the school principal on account of his incorrect statement.

According to a press release of the home department, the inquiry officer has stated that the victim, Danish, was discharged from the hospital on Sept 18 without his complete recovery which was unfair on part of the hospital administration.

“He was discharged just to give a benefit to the accused teacher in grant of bail, which was fixed for Sept 19, when he (Danish) was unconscious at that time,” the officer stated adding that the hospital administration might also be directed to inquire into the matter and fix responsibility for taking action against the person at fault.

The press release states that on receipt of the said inquiry report, the home department has immediately furnished it to the elementary and secondary education department as well as health department for taking disciplinary action against the teacher and hospital staff concerned at the earliest as recommended by the inquiry officer.

It is stated that the home department had taken serious notice over an incident of brutal corporal punishment to the student by a class teacher and had ordered a formal inquiry into the incident. The inquiry was assigned to the commissioner Hazara Division at Abbottabad.

The inquiry states that Danish, a student of eighth grade in Government High School Kakotri (Haripur), remained absent for two days. It states that on Sept 13, he along with three other students Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhter and Jamshed were beaten by their schoolteacher Abdul Qayyum with stick in the assembly ground.

According to the statements of the three students, the said teacher told them before administering them the punishment to protect their arms and heads during the beating. The inquiry report has mentioned the medical examination conducted by the medical officer of District Headquarters Hospital Haripur.

The inquiry officer stated that the principal of the school, in a written statement, mentioned that the injured student had been discharged from the hospital on Sept 18 as he had recovered. Later, after he was discharged his condition deteriorated and was admitted to Ayub Medical Complex.