The teacher, Udaybhan Yadav, who allegedly beat Jyoti Gupta with a ruler and then slapped her hard on her face for forgetting her homework, claims the incident is a frame-up by the Guptas though he is at a loss to come up with a motive.

He is back in class with his little brood at Mahatma Gandhi School at Jogeshwari, unruffled and seemingly unconcerned about the pending case against him. Yadav told Express Newsline today that he had never laid a hand on the girl, whose father Ramji is a complete stranger.

He claims Jyoti abruptly stopped attending school on July 20, two days before the alleged incident took place. However, Jyoti's father vehemently denies this, saying he can prove his daughter had attended class till July 22. He also points out that he has three other daughters studying in the sameschool.

Yadav says: ``Suddenly, on July 24, I was summoned to the principal's office, where Jyoti and her father Ramji were waiting. The principal asked me if I had beaten Jyoti,'' claims Yadav, who says the girl was ``in bad shape''. However, he claims, he was not aware till then that Jyoti was hurt.

The principal then asked him to return to class and the matter ended there. However, he does admit that Jyoti had told the principal, S N Yadav, that she had been beaten by him for not completing her homework.

Gupta returned to the school the next day accompanied by two policemen, looking for Yadav. However, since he was absent for a couple of days, his statement was finally recorded on July 28 and his fingerprints were taken. ``Since the case was non-bailable, police asked me to get bail, which I immediately did. I was then released.

``Since then, I have been coming to school regularly and the principal has not complained of anything. Neither has the police approached me after that,'' he explains.

``Ihave been teaching here since 1989 and this is the first time I have been accused of anything,'' Yadav says.

Oshiwara police said the case had been registered under Sections 333, 334 and 326 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 326 relates to grievous injury and it was apparent that the girl had been hurt. However, they said they had no further role to play.

The medical opinion, however, reveals a cluster of facts which are not inconsistent with the Gupta's allegations. Jyoti had a pre-existing condition called `acute ITV' accompanied by a platellate deficiency. This thwarts clotting of blood, explains Dr Rajiv Shah, who is treating the child. Injections have been prescribed to remedy the condition. However, he says though X-rays indicate that no bones were fractured, the girl had indeed sustained some external injuries. Therefore, even if Jyoti was slapped, her condition could turn serious. But the question remains: is corporal punishment warranted for forgetting to do her homework? In fact, is it justifiedat all?