Imphal, Feb 10 (IANS): Five children from Manipur have been rescued from a distressing situation at a private school in Maharashtra’s Nashik, officials said here on Saturday.

An official of the Manipur Social Welfare Department said that following the request of the Manipur government, District Child Protection Unit officials in Nashik rescued five children from the private English medium school.

According to the official, the students were rescued recently following reports of "severe punishment and mistreatment" faced by the children, raising concerns about violations of child protection laws.

The parents of the students raised alarm when they learnt about the harsh conditions their children were facing at the school. The children were taken to Nashik School with promises of free education at the private school, the official said.

Besides these five, there are reportedly also other young children, including girls, who were taken to Nashik with the same promise of providing free education.