Malkangiri: A day after a schoolteacher of a residential school at Katamateru village in Malkangiri district was stripped and thrashed by locals for allegedly misbehaving with a girl student, the district administration today suspended the accused teacher.

District Welfare Officer (DWO)  Pratipta Kumar Panda suspended the accused identified as Ashwini Dehury, a teacher of Katamateru Ashram Vidyalaya. Yesterday, the DWO had sent a special team to the spot for an inquiry into the incident.

The DWO has also served a showcause notice to Headmaster of the school in this connection, sources said.

On Monday, the teacher was dragged, stripped and beaten black and blue by locals for allegedly misbehaving with a Class 6 girl of the school frequently. The villagers had also tied him to the main gate of the school till late. The incident came to fore after a video of the teacher being bashed by the mob went viral on social media.