CHENNAI: A teacher at a government school in Thiruvottiyur was assaulted by a Class 12 student in the classroom after the teacher allegedly waking him up the student who was caught sleeping in the classroom on Tuesday.
Police investigations revealed that the boy was under the influence after consuming mawa (a type of oral tobacco).
The 17-year-old was studying class 12 at a government higher secondary school in Wimco Nagar, Thiruvottiyur.
The boy allegedly was skipping school for the last ten days and was not attending the unit examinations in school.
On Monday, the boy's father brought him to the school and apologised to the teachers, and requested them to allow him to write the examinations.
The school principal allowed the boy to attend the commerce examination held on Monday. Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, while the students were writing the examination, a teacher M Sekar (46) supervising the class spotted the boy asleep on the desk.
The teacher's attempts to wake up the boy were futile after and he found packets of mawa and other oral tobacco sachets besides him.
When Sekar shook the boy, he woke up and picked up a quarrel with the teacher and as the argument escalated, the boy allegedly assaulted the teacher.
Sekar fell to the ground, and he suffered injuries on his face. He was rushed to a hospital nearby for treatment.
Thiruvottiyur Police have detained the boy and are questioning him.