On 25 August, a video went viral in which a teacher can be seen exhorting students to hit a Muslim student. The school was identified as Neha Public School in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district. The teacher, identified as Tripta Tyagi, can be heard telling the students to hit the eight-year-old child on the body as "his face is going red".
The incident sparked widespread outrage from politicians and celebrities.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary was among the first politicians to react. He posted on X (formerly Twitter):
Chaudhary also says that he has instructed the RLD's MLAs to ensure that the police takes up the case.
He also individually replied to several people who were trying to justify the incident.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "To instill the poison of discrimination in the minds of children, to make a school the marketplace of hatred - nothing can be worse than this for a teacher".
'Poison Being Instilled in the Minds of Children'
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi posted on X:
Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi was the only voice from the BJP to speak out on this incident. He posted on X, "To show such hatred towards a child in the temple of knowledge has made the country's head hang in shame".
Former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav called the teacher, a blot on the entire teacher community as she is not only inflicting violence on the child but also making other students violent.
Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader and Bollywood actor Urmila Matondkar demanded the arrest of the teacher, Tripta Tyagi, and called her a blot on humanity.
Actors Renuka Shahane and Swara Bhaskar also demanded that Tyagi be arrested.
In an initial statement, the Muzaffarnagar police said it has taken cognisance of the matter. They later updated the statement and said, "We also spoke to the teacher and found out that she had said, "jin mohammedan baccho ki maa baccho ki padhai par dhyaan nahi deti hain, unn baccho ki padhai ka naash hojata hain." (Mothers of Muslim students who do not pay attention to the studies of their children, their studies are ruined)."
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