NEW DELHI: An educator hailing from Uttar Pradesh, who garnered widespread attention after instructing students in her classroom to administer physical discipline to their fellow Muslim classmate, has staunchly defended her actions, asserting that her intent was to instill discipline in the child. An FIR has been registered against Tripta Tyagi, the teacher from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, following the viral dissemination of a video that appeared to capture her directing students to slap their Muslim classmate.

Tyagi, however, remains unrepentant for her contentious conduct. She expressed, "I do not harbor shame. I have devoted myself to the betterment of this village as an educator, and the local community stands behind me," Tyagi conveyed during an interview with a private television news channel.

She attempted to rationalize her actions by emphasizing the necessity to "regulate" the behavior of students within the school environment. Tyagi further justified her actions by explaining that the student in question had been struggling to grasp a lesson for several months. Owing to her physical limitations, she had enlisted other students to help maintain discipline, and the child's uncle had purportedly supported her decision.

"My intent was to instill a sense of order among the students," Tyagi asserted while defending her actions. Responding to allegations of religious bias, Tyagi underscored the coexistence of individuals from diverse religious backgrounds in the village and emphasized her lack of animosity toward the child involved.

The widely circulated video showed students taking turns slapping their classmate as the teacher encouraged them to apply more force. In the video, the teacher could be heard stating, "I have announced that all Muslim students…" as she spoke into the camera. Allegedly, she even directed a student to focus on the boy's waist after he had already been slapped.

Moreover, the teacher cautioned the students against striking the boy's face, explaining that it might cause redness. In a video, she was heard saying, "I had instructed the student to memorize the five times multiplication table. Despite having a holiday for Independence Day, he still couldn't accomplish it." The boy's cousin, Nadeem, recorded the incident and later revealed that he observed the teacher encouraging other students to slap his relative.

In the wake of the video's widespread circulation, an FIR was lodged against the teacher in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday. The First Information Report (FIR) references sections 323 (pertaining to voluntarily causing harm) and 504 (related to intentional insults with the intent to incite a breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Satyanarayan Prajapat, Superintendent of Mansurpur Police, reported having engaged with the school's principal and initiated an investigation into the incident.

SP Prajapat informed the news agency ANI that a video had been submitted to the Mansurpur police station on this day. In the video, a female teacher is seen instructing students to administer physical discipline to their classmate due to their non-compliance mastering multiplication tables. He also verified the presence of inappropriate comments in the video. Furthermore, he stated that the Basic Education Officer had been informed about the incident and assured that the necessary administrative measures would be implemented against the teacher.