The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested a school teacher for stoking communal animosity after she allegedly ordered a Muslim student to slap a Hindu classmate, PTI reported.
The incident allegedly occurred at a private school in the Sambhal district’s Dugawar village. The father of the Hindu student filed a police complaint against the teacher identified as Shaista.
He alleged that the teacher told a Muslim classmate to slap his son, a student of Class 5, after he could not answer a question. He said that this hurt his son’s religious sentiments.
The police booked Shaista under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, Additional Superintendent of Police Shrish Chandra said, according to The Hindu.
This is the second time that such a case has been reported from a school in Uttar Pradesh. Last month, a video that was shared widely on social media showed a teacher ordering students to slap their seven-year-old Muslim classmate and making disparaging remarks about Muslims.
As the video and news of the incident drew criticism from Opposition parties, political leaders and advocacy groups, the police filed a case against the teacher, Tripta Tyagi, on August 26. The charges in the first information report are non-cognisable, meaning that the police cannot arrest the accused person without a warrant. The police also need permission from a court to start an investigation.
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