RAIPUR, INDIA - In a gruesome incident of corporal punishment, two children in Bastar died on the spot after their heads were smashed against each other by their teacher.

The two brothers, 10 year old Prem Mehra and seven year old Harun were punished after they were absent from school for eight days. Prem was a class four student, while Harun was only in class one.

The two boys in fact did not come to school because they were terrified of their teacher, who often used to hit the students.

"They told me the teacher hit the students. So I told them not to attend school," said Sudru, father of the victims.

When the teacher, Pramod, heard that the two brothers were playing in their village while school was on, he tracked them down and banged their heads against each other.

The force was so intense that the two died on the spot. Pramod has been arrested by the police.

But as corporal punishment becomes common in schools, with scores of children facing violence at the very hands of those meant to shape their lives, education with dignity is gradually becoming a thing of the past.