The rot has spread to the very core.

A headmistress in Uttar Pradesh has made children slap and thrash a child after declaring that Muslim pupils should be beaten up before they are sent back home because they do not do their homework well, suggests a video clip that surfaced on Friday.

The children are said to be pupils of Class V. But the father of the slapped Muslim pupil said his son studies in another class. It is possible that pupils of different classes were seated together when the incident took place on Thursday.

The targeted boy, slapped at least twice and beaten from behind once by three classmates, is seen sobbing.

An inquiry is on to establish the full sequence of events but Muzaffarnagar police confirmed that the classroom in the video is Class V of a private school at a village in the western Uttar Pradesh district. Muzaffarnagar had witnessed communal riots in 2013 that killed 62 people.

The headmistress has been identified as Tripta Tyagi, who runs the school from her home. She could not be reached by this newspaper for comment.

In the 39-second video, a person said to be Tyagi is heard saying in Hindi to a man sitting in front of her: “I have declared that these Muslim students should be beaten before being sent home.”

The children, wearing ties and tucked-in full-sleeve shirts, are seen seated on the floor.

The victimised child is standing to her right and she asks his classmates to walk up to him and beat him. At least one child does so but the intensity does not please the teacher.

She asks two other students to beat him. “Slap him on his hip and not on his cheek as his cheek would turn red,” the woman advises the students.

The second slap lands hard, across the face. The third student goes behind the child and smacks him. The child grimaces and sobs.

The headmistress and the man (whose face is unseen but voice is audible) are carrying on their conversation, peppered with laughter.

Tyagi tells the man: “I taught him the tables up to 5x5 but he didn’t....” The rest of the words are not audible in the video.

The father of the child later told reporters that he would not file a case because he and Tyagi had reached a compromise.

“The madam caused some dispute between the kids. I reached a compromise with her,” he said.

Asked about details of the compromise, the father said: “She returned the fees of my son and I withdrew him from the school. I’ll not send him to the school.”

The boy’s father told this newspaper over the phone: “I don’t want to pursue a police case and want to treat this matter as closed. While my son was a bit scared and shaken, he is all right now.”

Mohammed Zubair, the fact-checker associated with the AltNews platform, told The Telegraph on Friday that he had spoken to the child’s father as well as a relative who filmed the incident when he visited the school to pursue some work.

“He (the relative) said the teacher had earlier called another Muslim student and got some students to slap him. But he wasn’t sure if Hindu students were specifically picked to slap these two boys since half of the class students were Muslims,” Zubair said in response to a question from this newspaper.

“I specifically asked him if Hindu students were called to slap the Muslim students. But he said the teacher called students at random,” Zubair said.

A local reporter who knew the pupil’s father alerted the police who visited the child’s home. “The police then took the child’s father to the school where the teacher apologised to him and settled the matter,” Zubair said.

A police officer who didn’t want to be named told reporters: “The teacher has tendered her apology to... (name) the father of the kid and he has pardoned her. He has decided not to take the matter forward. He has not filed any police complaint.”

Muzaffarnagar police posted a message in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter): “The thana in-charge... has been asked to probe the case and act accordingly.”

Ravi Shankar Mishra, circle officer, said the police had cross-checked the veracity of the video. “There are some objectionable conversations in the video. We will file a case and initiate legal action...,” Mishra said.

Shubham Shukla, the basic education officer of Muzaffarnagar, told reporters: “It is not clear whether this incident has anything to do with religion. But a team from the department will visit the spot on Saturday for inquiry into the video.”

Shukla added: “While a teacher is seen asking the students to beat their classmate, someone who is not in the video is provoking her. We will take legal action against the teacher and the other man, and also against the school management.”

Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, posted on X: “Information has been received about a lady teacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar getting a child beaten up by other children in the classroom. Cognisance has been taken and directions are being issued to take action. Everyone is requested not to share the video of the child. Give information about such incidents by email. Don’t become a party to the crime by revealing the identity of the child.”