Arvind Yadav, Hyderabad: A student was given an electric shock and another injured his tongue during a severe beating in two schools in Andhra Pradesh but their teachers have no regrets for their action.

Shirisha, a Class III student of the Good Shepherd International High School in Tuni in East Godavari, has scars on her hands and feet after her teacher gave her an electric shock.

Shirisha, 10, is traumatised and has stopped attending school. "They gave me an electric shock. I am still scared," she says.

The authorities at Shirisha’s school though are unrepentant and think they've done anything wrong. Principal Krishan Rao said the punishment was meant to "improve" Shirisha.

"We just did it to help the student improve. The electric shock was not given with any wrong intention," he said.

The St Mary's School in Hyderabad’s Nallakunta locality, too, believes that beating up a student was not wrong. The boy cut his tongue during the beating, but the authorities instead of taking him to hospital called his parents to school. A complaint has been filed against the school management.

"We have received the complaint from the father saying that his son was beaten and was not taken to the hospital. We are looking in this matter. The school management says they want to give first hand information to the police," said Santosh Kumar, Inspector of Police, Nallakunta

The cruel punishments have shocked people and enraged rights groups in the state. On July 15 the head master of a private school and two other persons were arrested for allegedly chaining a Class III student as a punishment in Mahabubnagar district.