New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police have registered a criminal case against the management and a teacher of Sareen Soni Play School in Pandeypur, Varanasi, after a five-year-old nursery student was allegedly branded on his private parts with a hot knife for urinating in his pants.A first information report (FIR) was lodged against the teacher Priti Kushwaha, principal Hemlata Singh and the school manager following a complaint by the child’s father, who is a lawyer.The case was registered under Sections 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Varanasi Police told The Wire that while the accused have been questioned, further police action, including potential arrests, will depend on the findings of the child’s medical examination.According to the police complaint, the incident occurred on Friday (July 24) when the five-year-old requested permission to use the restroom from his teacher, Kushwaha. The complaint said the child accidentally urinated in his pants after the teacher refused permission.Enraged, the teacher allegedly took the child to a separate room, heated a knife until it was red-hot and burnt his private parts.“She also beat him and threatened that if he repeated the mistake, he would face even worse consequences,” the father alleged in his complaint, adding that the child narrated the ordeal after returning home.The father said he attempted to call the accused teacher shortly after speaking with his son, but she did not answer the call.His wife subsequently contacted principal Hemlata Singh, who allegedly dismissed the concern, saying, “Do what you want, no one can harm us.”The father said that he received a similar response from the school manager when he met him in person on Saturday (July 25).Atul Kumar Singh, Station House Officer of the Lalpur-Pandeypur police station, where the FIR was lodged, told The Wire that while the final medical report is pending, preliminary assessments indicate that the child was abused with a heated object.“There is a visible mark where he was touched,” Singh said, “However, the exact extent and severity of the injury will be determined once we receive the official medical opinion from the doctors.”He further said that decisions regarding arrests would depend on how “the medical evidence categorises the severity of the offence.” Doctors will determine how damaging the injury could have been or is, he stressed.Assistant Commissioner of Police Cantonment Apoorv Pandey confirmed that legal proceedings have been initiated and assured that appropriate action would be taken against the accused following the medical report.The incident has drawn widespread criticism from social media users, with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav describing it as an “extremely serious” matter. He also warned of the potential long-term psychological impact the incident can have on the child.“This is an extremely serious matter whose painful and horrific impact could last a lifetime on that child. Teachers should have enough sense to treat children with empathy and humanity. Immediate appropriate action must be taken!” Yadav wrote on X.