In yet another disgraceful incident of corporal punishment, a five-year-old boy was shackled to a wooden plank at the Choudeshwari Devi School in Kosigi on Wednesday. Vijay, an LKG student of the school, had to walk back home with the heavy wooden plank still shackled to his leg. The five-year-old kept dragging the plank as he walked, but soon he got exhausted and collapsed near the police station.

Passersby and other students lifted him and took him to his house.

It is alleged that the school management had shackled the boy about a week ago. This was because he used to miss his classes and run away from school. Though Vijay said that a teacher had shackled his leg, the school correspondent Krishna Murthy said that the boy’s parents themselves had shackled him. The boy’s father Veeresh too said that he had tied his son’s leg. However, it is believed that the school management had convinced Vijay’s parents to own up to the crime.

Kosigi mandal education officer K. Erranna said that it was crime to shackle a minor and stringent action would be taken against the school management and the parents after conducting a probe.