A high school teacher has been suspended after a physical altercation with a Plus Two student at Anchalummoodu Govt Higher Secondary School, Kollam, on Tuesday. The incident, which escalated into blows, left the student with serious injuries to his head and face. He is currently undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

The teacher, Muhammad Rafi (48), of Kadakkal, who serves as a physical education instructor in the high school section, was suspended by the deputy director of education on the direction of general education minister V Sivankutty. The minister also ordered an inquiry into the matter.

According to reports, the incident took place around 3pm when Rafi was conducting training for high school students on the school ground. A group of Plus Two students, including the victim, was standing nearby. When asked to move, the students did not comply, leading to an exchange of words. Later, the boy was called near the staff room, where the argument turned violent. Rafi allegedly punched the boy on the head and face with a key held in his hand. Teachers rushed the injured student to the hospital.

The boy’s mother alleged that it was a deliberate attack and accused teachers of shielding Rafi by making baseless claims against her son. “My son suffered serious injuries. This was not an accident—it was done in vengeance,” she said.

The student’s emotional state was also noted by school authorities. Principal Shyju TS said the boy’s father had recently died of cardiac arrest, leaving him emotionally distressed. While the teacher was suspended immediately, the student was not.

However, minister Sivankutty later told the media that he had instructed officials to suspend the boy as well, saying: “The school should not be a place for a fight between teacher and student. The teacher erred in attacking, but the student too, was wrong in retaliating.”

Anchalummoodu police have registered a case against Rafi under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt using a weapon) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Police confirmed that the headmistress had filed a complaint against the student, but no case has been registered against him so far.