The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has served a notice on the Uttar Pradesh government over the reported slapping of a student by his classmates at the behest of his teacher in Muzaffarnagar recently.
The Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that a teacher of a private school referring to the faith of one of her students in an absurd manner ordered his classmates to beat him. The school is located at Khubbapur village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
The boy’s family reportedly said he was beaten up for a mistake in the multiplication of tables, during the class. A video of the incident went viral on August 25, 2023, leading to calls for action against the teacher and the school.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, amount to a violation of the victim’s human rights and on Tuesday has issued notices to the UP Chief Secretary and the state Director General of Police, calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.
The report should include the action taken against the teacher, the status of the FIR registered in the matter and compensation if any, paid to the aggrieved family, as well as steps taken/proposed to be taken to ensure that such shameful incidents do not recur in the future, the Commission order says.
According to the media report on August 28, the teacher, who also owns the school, has not been arrested yet. The school does not meet the criteria of the Education Department. The boy’s family has already taken him out of the school and is looking for a new school.