LUCKNOW, July 30 -- The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report stating that a five-year-old boy studying in a private school was subjected to torture and inhumane treatment by his teacher in Varanasi, according to a press release on Wednesday. "The teacher, enraged after the boy urinated in his trousers, reportedly took him to the school kitchen and branded his private parts with a hot knife. The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of human rights violations," the press release stated. Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and the Varanasi police commissioner, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. The report is expected to include the victim's current state of health. According to the media report, published on July 28, 2026, the boy informed his parents about the incident after returning home. The press release added that the teacher had allegedly threatened him with more severe punishment if he repeated the behaviour....