AGRA: Following a directive from the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh government has appointed a senior IPS officer to investigate the incident involving an eight-year-old Muslim boy who was subjected to repeated slapping by his classmates on the orders of a teacher at Neha Public School in Khubbapur village of Muzaffarnagar district."In compliance with the honorable Supreme Courts order, the government has designated senior IPS officer Nachiketa Jha, inspector general of police, Meerut zone, to oversee the investigation into the incident..." police announced on Friday.On August 26, when a video emerged showing a primary school teacher encouraging students to slap their frightened and weeping eight-year-old Muslim classmate, it had sparked a national outrage, and the UP police subsequently registered a case against Tripta Tyagi under sections 504 (insulting someone intentionally to provoke them) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC. Lawyers and activists pointed out that the case had strong communal undertones and also that it involved the "abuse of a minor".After facing criticism for their initial response, the UP police later added section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) to the FIR. A plea filed by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, had prompted the apex court to hear the case. On September 25, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mitha directed the UP government to appoint a senior IPS officer to investigate the matter, terming the incident as "serious".

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