Visakhapatnam, April 22 (IANS): In a shocking incident, a female student in an Andhra Pradesh college hit a woman lecturer with her footwear for confiscating her mobile phone.

The incident occurred on Monday at a private engineering college in the Bheemunipatnam mandal of Visakhapatnam district.

The video of the incident went viral on social media, triggering outrage among netizens.

The incident occurred when the lecturer seized the phone of the student for using it on campus in violation of the college rules.

Furious over the teacher’s action, the student had a heated argument with her.

The girl told the teacher that the phone is worth Rs 12,000. She was also heard asking the teacher in a threatening tone if she would return her phone or not. When the teacher refused to return the phone, the student started hurling abuses and removed her footwear. “Will you give my phone back or should I hit you with my slipper?” the student asked.

As the teacher stood her ground and refused to give her device, the student advanced towards her and started hitting her with the sandal. The teacher resisted the attack, leading to a brawl between them. Some students and staff members intervened to separate the two.

The college authorities have taken serious note of the incident. Action is likely against the student for attacking the teacher.

The video of the incident was widely circulated on social media, evoking strong condemnation from many netizens. They found fault with the student’s behaviour. They felt that the student should not have assaulted the teacher.

However, some of the social media users were of the view that mistakes were on both sides. One of the netizens opined that the handling of the situation was not right. He called for skill development to handle such situations and also underlined the need for value-based education.