Representative image of school.
Source: Reuters file photo
Muzaffarnagar’s Khubbapur village has been in the news after a video went viral where a school teacher purportedly was seen making communal remarks while egging students to hit their fellow Muslim classmate repeatedly. The family has now reportedly being pressurized to strike a compromise and get the FIR against the teacher expunged, a report in The Indian Express said.
Leaders from Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bhim Army extended support to the father, whereas farm leader Naresh Tikait has reportedly pushed the boy's family to reach a ‘compromise' in the matter.
The Express reported quoted one Naresh Tyagi, head of nearby Pura village as telling the father, “Stop this drama now. We don’t want the media in this village. I want you to go to the police station and tell them you don’t need an FIR. Get it expunged… or you will be the one facing consequences."
RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary, member of Rajya Sabha from INC Imran Pratapgarhi and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi have also spoken to the boy's father.
The nation-wide attention has overwhelmed the family to a point that they are worried about their future in Muzaffarnagar. “My family and I are worried about our future here. I am a farm labourer. I don’t want Tripta ma’am to be arrested or punished. We only wanted an apology and an explanation from her. I was shocked to see my boy being beaten over his identity. He was humiliated because he didn’t do his homework. We have never faced such an issue in the village, but now everyone is talking about it," the boy's father told the publication.
The opposition has targeted BJP’s 'hate politics’ and ‘divisive thinking’ over the incident, while BJP's Amit Malviya insisted that there's 'no communal angle'. Fearing safety, the family wishes to retreat from defining the incident as such. The father has said that he does not want the incident to be given a communal angle as it could disrupt the peace in the village.
The teacher, Tripta Tyagi, has been booked under IPC sections 323 (causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), based on statements of father and the boy but not been arrested as the charges are bailable. Tyagi has apologised for asking the students to hit the boy but also added that she is being wrongfully targeted.
Tyagi is the co-owner of the Neha Public school, the only private school in the village and due to the building being under construction, she was taking class in her residence, where the incident took place.