The viral video which shows a teacher telling schoolchildren to slap a Muslim classmate at a school in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar has sparked wide outrage in the country. As per reports, Tripta Tyagi, a teacher at Neha Public School, was heard instructing students to beat their fellow student.
Amid the outrage, including sharp reactions from political leaders, Tyagi apologised for the incident, but stated that she had no communal intentions. The teacher also said the video that has gone viral has been cut and edited and does not show the entire truth. “ I had no such intentions…in our place, Hindus and Muslims stay with unity and we have more Muslim students in our school,” she told ANI.
Justifying her actions, the teacher said that she urged other students to slap the child because she is handicapped. “I am handicapped, I can’t get up. He was not doing homework for last two months, so I made 2-3 students beat him up so that he would start doing his work. What I said was 'Muhamdan mothers' must not take their kids to their uncles’ homes as the exam is approaching. But they cut this video and took the 'Muhamdan' word," she said.
The seven-year-old student was repeatedly slapped by his classmates, as the teacher was seen instigating other students also to join in. A complaint has been registered after the video went viral. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also taken cognisance of the video and urged people to not share the video or reveal identities of the students involved.
Responding to the harrowing incident, the victim's father said that his son “was tortured for an hour or two". "This is not a Hindu-Muslim matter. The law should take its course,” he said.
Circle Officer Ravishankar said on Friday that the viral video is being examined and further action will be taken. He said: “It seems the child was beaten up for not completing his school work. Some objectionable comments can also be heard in the video. We are looking into the matter.”
