Bhopal, Sept. 24 -- Nearly 360 students of Classes 9 to 12 at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Guna's Bajranggarh locked themselves inside their hostel for over three hours on Sunday evening, demanding the removal of the principal after he was accused of beating a Class 10 student who had complained about substandard food, officials said.

"In protest, 360 students locked them inside the hostel room and threatened of fast unto death. The standoff lasted for over three hours, with students refusing to open the gates despite repeated appeals from teachers," an official, requesting anonymity, said.

The principal, HK Meena, was accused of brutally beating a Class 10 student in Bajranggarh village, seven kilometres from Guna. The matter came to ...