Teacher chops off ears of 17 students in Bangladesh.

Dhaka, Sep 16 (IANS) A teacher in a madrassa in northern Bangladesh cut off the ears of 17 children with a pair of scissors because they were not reading their textbooks loudly.

Angry parents and guardians caught the teacher, Moulana Abdul Majid, from a nearby village in Bogra district and beat him up. Some elders rescued Majid and sent him to a nearby hospital.

The managing committee of the madrassa initially tried to hide the incident, which occurred Tuesday, but later admitted it and sacked Majid, the Bangla daily Prothom Alo reported Thursday.

Some 25 children, aged between five and eight and belonging to poor and middle-class families, study at the madrassa. The school’s only room was used both for classes and as a living quarter.

The children said Majid whipped them mercilessly for not reading their lessons at the top of their voices after afternoon prayers Tuesday.

“But it did not reduce his anger and he cut off our ears with a pair of scissors,” one of the students said.

The students attacked by Majid were taken to a local hospital for treatment.