In yet another instance of corporal punishment despite the law proscribing it, a class six girl was allegedly beaten mercilessly by her teacher for not getting a high score in a school test.

The girl has fractured fingers on her right hand as a result of the beating. She is in a state of shock and is too scared to go back to school.

Nikita, a student of Activity Higher Secondary School in the Janipur area of Jammu, was beaten by the teacher Poonam on the pretext that she had 'secured less marks' in a class test, the police said.

They said when the minor girl reached home, she fell unconscious and her mother Renu Kumari noticed that her right hand had swollen.

Nikita was rushed to hospital where the doctors found that she had fractured some fingers in the right hand. After preliminary tests and treatment, the doctors plastered the hand and she was asked to go home, they said.

"Nikita is in a state of shock and is too scared to attend school. The same is the case with my son who has also stopped going to school since the incident," her mother said.

School principal Rishi Kumar said the management has noted the incident and is taking appropriate action against the erring teacher.

The incident is among several reported cases of teachers not 'sparing the rod' despite the National Education Policy banning corporal punishment and the courts of law also taking a firm line against it.