Boy gets slapped by classmates in UP; Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi see poison

Muzaffarnagar (UP): A video showing a school teacher asking her students to slap a boy from a minority community and also passing objectionable remarks against the community has gone viral on social media, with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi condemning the incident.

The teacher, identified as Trapti Tyagi, can be seen asking the students of class 2 of a private school in Khubbapur village under Mansurpur police station area here to hit the hapless child.

Taking cognizance of the incident, Circle Officer Ravishankar on Friday told reporters, "The viral video was examined, and prima facie, 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 and further action will be taken."

Video: Muzaffarnagar police issues statement on boy getting slapped by classmates on insistence of teacher pic.twitter.com/7E9HB75klY

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Basic Shiksha Adhikari Shubham Shukla said apart from the students, two people are also seen in the video, one of whom is the teacher, while efforts are on to identify the other person.

"Action will be initiated against both the persons and also against the school management," he said.

Asked to comment on the religious identity of the victim child and those who hit him, Shukla said, "As of now, we cannot say it as this is a matter of investigation. Our team will probe this, and the police have also taken cognisance of this case."

Reacting to the incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on X, "Sowing the poison of discrimination in the minds of innocent children, turning a holy place like a school into a market place of hatred - there is 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 together teach love," he added.

Priyanka Gandhi said, "Where there is talk of technology to go to the moon or things that build a boundary wall of hatred. The choice is clear. Hate is the biggest enemy of progress."