Lahore, September 8

Enraged at the death of their classmate by a teacher for not memorising his lesson, a group of students in Pakistan's Punjab province set their school on fire to protest the brutal killing.

Hafiz Hunain Bilal, a Grade 10 student of the American Lycetuff School in Gulshan-i-Ravi area in central Lahore, was tortured to death by his teacher on Thursday.

According to police, teacher Muhammad Kamran punched the boy repeatedly, grabbed his hair and hit his head against a wall for "not memorising" his lesson.

The boy collapsed in the classroom and died on his way to hospital, they said.

A group of students on Friday threw petrol bottles on the school building, triggering fire that soon engulfed the whole structure.

The firefighters managed to control the fire after a few hours, while a police team dispersed the protesters and arrested a few of them.

A senior police official said the police arrested at least three students involved in setting the school building on fire.

"We are trying to find out the miscreants who provoked the students to commit this crime," the official said, adding that more policemen have been deployed outside the school building.

A case has been registered against Kamran by the police on behalf of the boy's father. Police have also arrested the principal of the school.

Corporal punishment is banned in schools in the Punjab province. — PTI