Lahore, May 31 : A student of a religious seminary in Pakistan's Punjab province has died after being punished by his teacher.

Police said that Atif, seven, was hung upside down from a ceiling fan by Maulvi Ziauddin for not memorising his Koran lessons.

Fellow students at a school in the town of Vehari told the police that Atif's condition deteriorated quickly and he died in the teacher's room. Maulvi Ziauddin was arrested from another village on Thursday, a day after the incident.

The son of a farm labourer, Atif lived in the seminary with about 20 other students, including a cousin.

"When his cousin did not see Atif on Wednesday night or the next morning, he informed the family," a Vehari police official, Mohammad Afzal, told the BBC.

The police said they would file formal charges after an autopsy report is issued by the local hospital.

The number of reported human rights abuse cases involving children has more than doubled from 617 in 2006 to 1,595 last year. (ANI)