10 year old brutally caned by Madrassa teacher

MALAPPURAM: While describing his ordeal, 10 year old Mohammed Labeeb was not even able to weep. “Ustad told me to put my hands on the desk and stoop. Then he started beating me from my toe to neck using the cane,” said Labeeb to Childline workers who counselled the boy at the hospital he was admitted to.

A fourth standard student at the Khuvathul Islam Madrasa in Tirurangadi, Mohammed Labeeb was brutally beaten up by his teacher Shafi Hudavi for allegedly failing to present ‘impositions’ demanded by him, on Tuesday morning.

According to the child and his classmates, the teacher caned him 250 times. The FIR filed with the police stated the poor boy’s body bore at least 50 caning marks, from toe to neck. “After beating me, he wanted me to sit on an imaginary chair,” says Labeeb, recalling the dreadful hours. “Though I felt like fainting and wanted to pass urine, he didn’t allow me to go out,” said the child.

Labeeb, according to Childline counsellor P Muhsin, is yet to recover from the mental trauma inflicted by the incident. “He shudders just by hearing somebody mentioning about ‘Ustad’, said Muhsin.

Meanwhile, six more students from the same institution complained with the district Childline unit on Wednesday that it was a routine for the teacher to beat up students black and blue for silly reasons.

Many students bore cane marks on their body, said the Childline workers who counselled the children. Most of the children were afraid to speak about their ordeal since they found no supporters for their story.

Even after going through such horrible physical torture, Labeeb also feared to inform his parents. It was his sister and classmates who brought his ordeal to light. The police have registered a case against the teacher and have recorded the accounts of the child and his classmates about the incident on Tuesday itself.

“We were sure that if we delayed action, interferences will keep the children mum,” says Tirurangadi Circle inspector Umesh, who is investigating the case

Responses