Sambhal (UP): A school teacher was arrested on Thursday for ordering a student to slap another student for not answering a question in class, media reports said.

The teacher was arrested on allegations of inciting communal hatred by ordering a class 5 Muslim student to slap his Hindu classmate for failing to answer a question in class, a news agency reported citing police.

The incident occurred at a private school on Tuesday in Dugawar village under the Asmoli police station limits in Sambhal district, said the report.

The Hindu boy's father filed a complaint and the teacher, Shaista, was charged under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), Additional SP Shrish Chandra said, according to the report.

The boy's father said in the complaint that his son's religious feelings were hurt, police said, adding that a probe has been launched into the matter.

In another incident, last month, in Khubbapur village in Muzaffarnagar, a teacher had a Muslim student slapped by Hindu students for not doing homework.

A case was registered against the accused teacher, Tripta Tyagi, under IPC sections 323 (voluntary causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

On September 25, the Supreme Court underscored that quality education cannot be achieved if a student is penalised based on their community. The court criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for conducting a shoddy investigation in the Muzaffarnagar case.

The apex court ordered the UP government to appoint a senior IPS officer within a week to probe the case.