Bhopal, Dec 9 (IANS): A video has surfaced on social media showing a school principal thrashing students with a bat for playing cricket inside the classroom at a government institution in Madhya Pradesh.

The video is believed to be around eight months old. As per reports, the incident took place at the government-run Kheda Khajuriya higher secondary school in Ujjain district.

As per reports, while principal Uday Singh Chouhan was on a round, he saw two Class X students playing cricket inside a classroom. The enraged principal snatched the bat from one of the students bat and thrashed them repeatedly.

Sensing commotion in the classroom, students from the adjoining classes started peeking into the room, while someone recorded the incident with his mobile phone. The video went viral a couple of days back.

Chouhan later told mediapersons that as a teacher, he was only doing his duty.

"I didn't beat the children the way it was shown in the viral video," he claimed.

Meanwhile, the state education department has said that the matter will be investigated.

"An order has been issued to launch a probe into the matter and action will be taken accordingly," an official said.