Kaski police arrested a hostel warden of Pokhara for tying a rubber band on a six-year-old child’s penis as punishment for urinating in bed.

Twenty seven-year-old Januka Nepali, warden of the New Life Hostel in Pokhara Metropolitan City-15, was arrested on Tuesday.

She had tied a rubber band around the boy’s penis on Monday morning as a punishment for urinating in his bed at night. According to the District Police Office, Kaski, the child is a nursery class student at the local Siddha Secondary School.

The boy’s situation came to light after he cried out loud in the classroom due to unbearable pain. Upon inspection, his teacher found that his penis was tied with a rubber band and his stomach was swollen.

The boy was rushed to a local hospital for medical check-up. His medical reports are yet to arrive, police said.

According to Kaski District Police Office Inspector Deepak KC, the boy had come to Pokhara from Dolpa to study. “His father has already passed away, while his mother is still in the village. That is why he was kept in the hostel,” he said.

According to Inspector KC, the district court has remanded Nepali to five days’ custody for further investigation into the case.

The private hostel, run by the Kathmandu-based Himalayan Goodlife, has been housing as many as nine unaccompanied students. Reportedly, a secret agreement was reached between the hostel staff and the boy’s school to prevent the incident from becoming public.

The agreement is reportedly signed by the school’s assistant principal Juna Thapa, hostel operators Rahul Nepali and Ganesh Pariyar, the school’s nursery teacher Sirjana Kandel, KG teacher Samjhauta Gautam, accused Januka Nepali and her husband Kisan Nepali.

According to Ward Chairman Prakash Poudel, the hostel is not registered anywhere in Pokhara. “The incident brought to light that the hostel is not registered in Pokhara, and hence being run illegally for the past six months.”