Public in Rajbiraj was outraged at Principal Binod Safi of Holy Cross English Boarding School in Rajbiraj Municipality for allegedly thrashing a kid. Safi had assaulted 14-year-old Dharmadev Sah of Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality, who was staying in a rented room near the school. As per information provided at a press conference organised by the victim’s family, the boy had received bruises in different parts of the body as a result of the thrashing. Dharmadev is a tenth-grader at the local Public Bindeshwori Secondary School. According to Dharmadev’s brother-in-law Raj Kumar Sah, the incident took place when the boy had gone to play with his friend in the latter’s school on Saturday. “He was playing on the swing with his friend when a cable of the swing broke and fell, injuring him on the head. Later, when the principal came to know about the incident, he beat the injured kid with a lathi and boots,” said the victim’s father Ram Asis Sah, who criticised the principal for his harsh behaviour towards the kid. “How can a principal be so ruthless as to punish a kid?” said the father. But, the principal denied ‘thrashing’ the kid, saying he had only slapped Dharmadev a couple of times. Though locals had padlocked the school over the same case earlier, the lock was opened today following police assurance to bring the guilty to justice. On its part, the district police office has pledged to take action against the guilty, saying an investigation was under way.