SWABI: Police have arrested a seminary teacher for beating severely an eight-year-old student.

Sources said that the student was sent home to hide the crime of the teacher of Madressah Javahirul Quran Saleem Khan. The people got enraged when the photo of the student identified as Mohammad Anees went viral on social media.

Ijaz Ahmad, a relative of the victim, registered an FIR in Swabi City police station against the teacher.

Police arrested the teacher after the photos of the student went viral on social media.

Sources said that Anees was beaten so severely with a stick that it was not possible for him to stay more in the seminary.

The local people have widely condemned the incident and demanded prompt action against the teacher. They said that about 400 students were acquiring religious education in the seminary and majority of them belonged to tribal districts and other far-flung areas.

They said that Mohammad Anees belonged to Bajaur tribal district but presently his family was living in Saleem Khan village. However, after the incident he was sent to Bajaur to hide the crime of his tutor and all the students and teachers of the madressah were tightlipped about the incident.

The teachers of the seminary, when approached by journalists, refused to admit that such an incident occurred there. The teacher was identified as Zahir Zada, a resident of Shangla district.

Sources said that the poor student did not learn his lesson which infuriated the teacher and he repeatedly beat him with a stick on his hips. The photos going viral on social media showed that it would be difficult for the student to sit because his hips were injured.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2019