The Muzaffarnagar police in Uttar Pradesh yesterday (25 August) released a statement saying that they are investigating into a video of a child being slapped by fellow classmates at the behest of a woman teacher.

The 40-second video went viral on social media yesterday with several leaders from Bharatiya Janata Party’s opposition parties reacting to it. They alleged the teacher acted with religious hatred against the child, who is Muslim. However, the police said that the boy being slapped had not learnt his mathematics lessons.

The police added that they would act against the teacher after investigation.

The video is reported to be of 24 August around 9 in the morning. The teacher, identified as Tripta Tyagi, can be seen coming one by one towards a boy, who is standing and crying, and slap him. She is also heard saying, “I have said that all those Mohammedan children…” The rest of her statement is not audible.

Muzaffarnagar police Superintendent of Police Satyanarayan Prajapat, in a video uploaded from the official Twitter account of Muzaffarnagar police, said that the police took notice of the viral video and the “objectionable remarks” made. After investigation and talking to the person who recorded it, it emerged that the teacher’s full statement was this: “I have said that all those Mohammedan children whose mothers don’t focus on their education, their education gets ruined. The person recording the video confirmed it.”

The officer said that proper action would be taken regarding the corporal punishment meted to the child.

Watch the video here:

The victim is reportedly eight years old. The incident took place in a home-run school named Neha Public School, located in Khubbapur village near Mansoorpur station. It is from Class 1 to 5.

The victim’s father, Irshad, told the media that he would return the fees to the school and withdraw the admission of his child.

Several opposition leaders reacted to the video, holding the BJP responsible. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Sowing the poison of discrimination in the minds of innocent children, turning a holy place like school into a marketplace of hatred – nothing worse a teacher can do for the country. This is the same kerosene spread by the BJP which has set every corner of India on fire. Children are the future of India – do not hate them, we all have to teach love together.”

Jayant Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader, wrote, “Muzaffarnagar school video is a painful warning of how deep-rooted religious divides can trigger violence against the marginalised, minority communities. Our MLAs from Muzzafarnagar will ensure that UP Police files a case suo moto & the child’s education is not disrupted!”

AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi said that the hateful thinking of Yogi Adityanath (chief minister of UP) was responsible for the incident.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) head Priyank Kanungo took notice of the incident and urged social media users to delete the video for violation of child rights.