Kasaragod: A Class 9 student was stabbed with a key, allegedly by senior students at Kumbla Government Higher Secondary School, the latest in a string of bullying-related assaults that have shaken schools in Kasaragod district. Officials have not yet called the assaults ragging.

Within three days of the commencement of Class 11 classes, three students have been assaulted in separate incidents at Kumbla, Edneer and Belloor Government Higher Secondary Schools. At the Kumbla school, Nihal (15), a Class 9 student from Olayam, was allegedly attacked by a group of Class 10 students on Wednesday.

According to the police, the incident began during class hours when a few senior students peeped through the classroom window and asked Nihal to come outside. He refused. After school, around 10 students allegedly confronted Nihal on the school ground and assaulted him. He managed to escape and hid near a bus shelter on the Kumbla-Badiadka road. However, when he attempted to board a bus, the same group allegedly surrounded him again, beat him up and stabbed him on the back of the head with a key.

Nihal reportedly lost consciousness and was rushed to Kumbla Co-operative Hospital by a passerby. Police said a case would be registered once a formal complaint was received. More than 20 clashes over minor disputes have reportedly taken place among students there in the past two years, making recurring violence a major concern for both parents and the police.

In another incident, a 16-year-old Class 11 student from Belinja was allegedly assaulted by four Class 12 students at Belloor Government Higher Secondary School on Thursday morning for not fastening the top button of his shirt. The student was allegedly thrown to the ground, kicked and beaten. He was initially admitted to a hospital in Mulleria before being shifted to Kasaragod General Hospital for further treatment. The school authorities and the student have lodged complaints with the Adhur police, who are recording the victim's statement.

The Belloor school had witnessed tension earlier this week. A clash broke out between Class 11 and Class 12 students on a school bus on Tuesday, following which the school declared a holiday for Class 12 students on Wednesday amid fears of further violence. Ironically, Thursday's assault occurred on the day an emergency PTA meeting had been convened to discuss the situation.

Meanwhile, Vidyanagar police have registered a case against 20 Class 12 students in connection with the alleged assault of a Class 11 student at Edneer Government Higher Secondary School in Chengala panchayat on Tuesday. According to the complaint, the student was intercepted around 11 am, his arm was twisted, he was pushed to the ground and kicked, causing injuries.

The Vidyanagar Station House Officer said the case has so far been registered only for assault. Provisions of the anti-ragging law could be invoked only after the school's Anti-Ragging Committee submitted a report concluding that it amounted to ragging.