HYDERABAD, Jan 13: Apparently a few select former and present students of the Government Himayat-ul-Islam Boys High School appeared before the inquiry, being conducted to probe the cause of death of 14-years old class-IX student, Mudassar, here on Sunday but out of four present students three left without recording their statements.

The deceased student's father and elder brother stated that it was corporal punishment that led to the boy's death.

DDO Mohammad Saleem Rajput recorded statements of two schoolteachers, one member of the school management committee (SMC), Mohammad Irfan, headmaster Syed Mahfooz Ali, the teacher Buland Iqbal, Mohammad Aslam, Owais and Muzamil, respectively father, brother of the boy and a peon.

The headmaster produced annual confidential reports (ACRs) of the teacher for last five to six years. He produced attendance register of last three months of class IX-B.

Statements were recorded under directives of EDO revenue Barkat Rizvi, a member of three-member committee, constituted by District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil to look into the cause of death of Mudassar.

The committee had directed EDO education Hyderabad Prof. Anwar Siddiqui to ensure production of students before the DDO.

Around 60 students study in class IX-B but only seven including three ex-students and four present appeared to record their statements. But even out of these four, three ran away without recording their statements. Only one of them, a Christian, recorded his statement.

The former students are Mohammad Mazhar Fareed, Mohammad Noman and Mohammad Muzamil. They have done their matriculation examination in 2006-07.

They had a unanimous opinion that Buland Iqbal was a ‘humane person’ and he treated all students ‘very politely’. They said they were asked by school teacher and SMC member Mohammad Irfan to appear.

The class fellows of deceased included Shahbaz Khan, Noman Ali, Zakir Ali and Irfan Rehmat. They told journalists separately outside the DDO's office that on that particular day not only Mudassar but around 20 others were given only a ‘mild’ punishment by the teacher of chemistry, Buland Iqbal.

They said that Buland Iqbal did punish around 18 to 20 students for not doing homework but punishment was not that severe.

Only Zakir Ali said: “Buland Iqbal punished several students including Mudassar to sit and stand up 40 to 50 times”. None of those students who were punished were asked to appear before the DDO.

According to Irfan, it was due to holiday that a few students could be contacted for statements.

“I attended my sixth period on that day but no student made any complaint about punishment to Mudassar. I don't know each and every student by name so I don't remember whether Mudassar was present in my period or had he left by then,” he said.

He said that other students told him that he (Mudassar) remained present till closing hours of school. It was a fact strongly denied by deceased's father Mohammad Aslam and brother Owais while talking to journalists when they came out of the DDO's office.

“In fact the monitor of the class had facilitated Mudassar to leave school without intimating class teacher or headmaster because Mudassar was complaining of severe abdominal pain,” the father and his son told journalists.

Both of them vehemently denied that Mudassar was suffering from any illness. In last three months, they said, he was absent only for 11 days.

They said the class fellows of Mudassar were willing to speak but they had been pressurised or they are afraid of Buland Iqbal.

One of the students did arrive here today but he also left without intimating them, they added.

“When I contacted those boys, who had attended the boy’ funeral they agreed to testify, but when I went to him his mother said he had gone to Karachi while another was not present at home too,” said Owais, who demanded that the teacher should not be reinstated in service.

After his testimony, Mohammad Aslam told Dawn that had his son been given proper treatment his life could have been saved.

“Buland Iqbal had subjected my son to corporal punishment for four days. It was he who beat up my son,” he stated while showing a picture taken a fortnight back before the corporal punishment incident in which the deceased boy had a fresh look.

He said that had he been ill he would not appear that healthy in this picture adding that he would not have been attending for three months continuously. The father said that there should be an end to corporal punishment in schools.