A teacher who blinded a girl by inserting a pin into one of her eyes in central India will be charged with attempted murder, officials said today.

Police in the state of Chhattisgarh said the school teacher used a pin to prick the 6-year-old girl's right eye after she failed to answer a question in class.

"It is a very inhuman and brutal act," T.R. Koshima, a senior police officer in the central Indian state, said today.

Medical tests revealed the girl was blinded in the right eye, he added.

The teacher was on the run ever since the incident occurred last November, but Koshima said police only received a complaint yesterday.

"We will take strong action," he added.

The government said it will bear all medical expenses and asked the police to step up its search for the teacher.

Reuters