School principal, teacher booked for hurting religious sentiments in Uttar Pradesh

The student's father has alleged that his son's 'shikha' was cut by his teacher with a pair of scissors on May 2. The 'shikha' is a tuff of hair kept at the back of the head by a Hindu following tonsure.

Ballia, Uttar Pradesh: An FIR has been registered against the principal and a teacher of a private school run by Christian missionaries in Ballia district for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, police said on Sunday.

The FIR was registered at the Rasda police station on Saturday on a complaint from the student's father, they said.

In his complaint, he has alleged that his son's 'shikha' was cut by his teacher with a pair of scissors on May 2, police said. The 'shikha' is a tuff of hair kept at the back of the head by a Hindu following tonsure.

The case has been registered against the principal and the teacher under sections 295A (malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings), 504 (intentional insulting a person) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Fahim Qureshi said.

The complaint stated that when the child's mother went to the school to complain about it, the principal and the teacher threatened and hurled abuses at her.