AGRA: Following the Supreme Court (SC) directive in the Uttar Pradesh school slapping case, police in Muzaffarnagar have added a more stringent IPC section 295-A -- deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs -- against the teacher, Tripta Tyagi, who was accused of encouraging students to slap their classmate, an eight-year-old Muslim boy.Deputy superintendent police (DSP) Ravi Shankar Mishra told TOI on Tuesday, "During the investigation, IPC section 295-A has now also been added. Earlier, a case was registered against Tripta Tyagi under IPC sections 504 (insulting someone intentionally to provoke them) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt). Further probe is on." Both 504 and 323 are "bailable" while under the "non-bailable and cognizable" 295-A the accused "may face a prison term that may be extended to three years, with a fine, or both".Notably, senior lawyers had earlier pointed out the case was about "abuse of a minor with a profound communal tinge", and urged for "stricter sections". She was also booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.Terming the incident as "serious", the SC had directed the UP government to appoint a senior IPS officer to probe the matter. The inspector general of police (IGP) in Meerut is now investigating the matter. The apex court also asked the states home department to take necessary steps to avail the services of an expert agency to counsel the victim and other schoolchildren involved in the incident.In August, Tyagi, the teacher of a private school in the districts Khubbapur village, was found encouraging students to hit the boy for "not studying", a purported video of which was later widely circulated, causing public outrage. In the video, the boy could be seen frightened and weeping even as his classmates queued one by one to slap him. In another clip, the teacher could be purportedly heard asking the students to "whack him harder".

Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.