BALASORE: An eight-year-old boy, who was allegedly chained for around 10 days as punishment in the hostel of Begunia primary school in Nilagiri block, was rescued on Wednesday after the incident sparked public outrage in the area.

Nilagiri welfare officer Shailendra Satpathy said after getting instructions from the Balasore collector, a team rescued the boy, a Class IV student of the school, in the evening.

The student was reportedly chained by the hostel in-charge as punishment for being mischievous. His father had purportedly asked the hostel staff to restrain him as he created disturbances frequently. The boy’s plight came to fore after a video of him being chained in the hostel went viral on social media.

After coming across the video, Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi alerted the district collector, directing him to conduct an inquiry into the matter.