DHAKA: In what appears to be a gruesome case of corporal punishment, a three-year-old student of a pre-primary school in Saroornagar was allegedly locked in an empty room for more than four hours for three days.

The child is believed to be in a state of shock and depression.

The parents allege that their son, studying at Little Gems School, was subjected to this ‘punishment’ following an argument that broke out between them and the school principal a few days ago.

The matter came to the fore after the parents themselves saw the boy being locked inside a room away from the rest of his classmates.

‘We had gone to the school last week to discuss with the authorities about shifting our child to another school in the next academic year,’ said Preethi, mother of the victim, further claiming that they were not allowed to talk to the boy from outside the room.

‘The conversation ended with a minor argument with the principal. Then, after three days when we went to the school again we saw our boy missing from his classroom and locked in another room instead. The teachers told us that it had been happening for three days,’ she added.

BDST: 1934 HRS, NOV 24, 2013