This month, so far • A geography teacher is held in Burdwan after a Class IX student, who was confined in a school office for being inattentive, commits suicide • A Class VIII student at Kalinagar, Nadia, falls unconscious after the math teacher hit her on the head for not paying attention • A Class V student of a Krishnagar school is hospitalised after a teacher wrings her ears for running to class

Calcutta, Aug. 28: A mathematics teacher allegedly caned a Class VIII girl because her mason father’s written explanation for her absence from school had many mistakes.

Police detained Badal Sinha, the Harinkhola Junior High School teacher, today, two days after Ruma Haldar returned home with bleeding palms.

Ruma, who was absent from school for three days because she had fever, tried to tell the teacher on returning to school on Saturday that her father had only studied up to the primary level but he would not listen.

The police at Kulpi, South 24-Parganas, about 70 km from Calcutta, said Sinha was being questioned.

After reading the letter Ruma had brought from home, the teacher allegedly mocked her in front of classmates. “As she stood speechless, he picked up a cane and ordered her to lay her right palm, face up, in front of him. He hit her until she bled,” said Ruma’s mother Sabitri.

When Ruma returned home, about 2 km from school, with the bruised palm, Sabitri took her to a local doctor, who bandaged her hand.

“She cried in pain through Saturday night. But I could not do anything as my husband was away,” said Sabitri said.

Chand Ratan Haldar returned home yesterday and heard about the incident. He took his daughter to the Kulpi police station today.

The police summoned Sinha and detained him. Additional superintendent A.K. Ghosh said: “We will arrest Badal Sinha only if we find him guilty.”