District Education Officer (DEO) Niranjan Singh visited the school on Monday and recorded the statements of various teachers and students. Talking to Newsline, he said he would send his report to higher officials on Wednesday, following which a show-cause notice would be issued to the accused teacher, asking for explanation within 21 days, after which appropriate action would be taken.

The DEO said in view of the seriousness of the complaint, the services of the accused teacher, who was working on contract basis, could also be terminated.

It was learnt that the school students broke down while narrating their tale of woes before the DEO. “They compared the way they were beaten up by their teacher to the torture methods reportedly used by the police,” a source said.

Meanwhile, the accused teacher, Vikram Singh, tendered an apology in front of the Mubarikpur village panchayat on Saturday night after the parents of eight aggrieved students lodged a complaint at Dera Bassi police station.

Though the parents were made to reach a compromise with the teacher and withdraw complaint, the District Education Department is determined to investigate the case to avoid similar incidents in future.

Meanwhile, the science teacher, Anju, who was said to have asked Vikram to “teach a lesson” to the students, claimed that the children and the accused were “unnecessarily” dragging her name.