Video Input: Amit Saini
Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
"Teacher keh rahi thi Mohammedan ko zor zor se maaro....ek ghante tak maara (The teacher told students to hit the Muslim harder....they hit me for an hour)," says the seven-year-old child from Muzaffarnagar's Neha Public School, recounting how his teacher Tripta Tyagi told other students to beat him in class.
On being asked by the media why did the teacher say this, the child said, "Because I made one or two mistakes...I didn't remember the table (of a number)".
What Did the Child's Parents Say?
Speaking to the media, the child's father said that they didn't want to file a complaint as they felt it would harm communal harmony in the area.
"Yes I saw the video of my son being hit. They hit him for an hour...We were reluctant to file a complaint as we didn't want communal amity to be harmed. I'm sure our communal harmony will remain," he said.
We have chosen not to disclose the names of the child and his family in order to protect his identity.
"They beat him so much. His face and waist were all red because of being beaten. I got very angry seeing the video of my child being hit".Mother of the child who was beaten up
The mother further recounted that she went and confronted the teacher regarding what happened but the teacher replied, "I'm not in the mood to fight".
The Teacher's Explanation
The teacher, Tripta Tyagi, says she had no intention of making this a communal issue and alleged that the video has been distorted.
"I am handicapped so I can't get up hit a child. That's why I thought I can get other children to give him one or two slaps," she told the media.
Tyagi happens to be the principal of the school as well.
On being asked why she singled out the child for being 'Mohammedan', she said, "I was only telling the other children that Mohammedan mothers go to their parents' home and the child's studies get harmed".
She says she regrets what happened as "the issue got blown out of proportion".
What the Police and Administration Say
"The parents didn't agree to file FIR initially. But the next day morning they filed their complaint. We will take appropriate action as per law," said Arvind Malappa Bangari, District Magisterate of Muzaffarnagar.
As of now, a Non Cognisable Offence Information Report has been filed.
The Quint has accessed a copy of the report filed against Neha Public school under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code Act, 1860.
The father of the seven-year-old has said in his complaint that:
"The teacher had told him to recite a multiplication table, which he was not able to do. This is when Tripta instructed all the students to beat him in turns. She even told them to beat him harder."
"It was my nephew who had gone to the school for some work, but he sat there and recorded the incident on his mobile phone and he sent it to me then. In the video, she was also making remarks against Muslim women.
"In the video she was saying that, 'I have declared that all the Mohammedan (Muslim) children. If their mothers leave, their studies are ruined. My son also told me that she hurled abuses too."
"I request the police to file a case against her and take a legal action."
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