Dinesh Uikey smashed his daughter's face when she returned home from school on Friday evening in the district's Maramjhiri village and fled away, police said.
The girl, a student of class V at a government school at Maramjhiri, was admitted to Betul district hospital where she is undergoing treatment for her injuries and is reported to be out of danger.
The distraught girl told reporters here last evening that her father was against her attending school and used to ill-treat her for continuing with her studies instead of selling wood. She also alleged that many a times her father did not serve her food for a whole day.
A search was on to nab him, they added.