A magisterial inquiry has been ordered after reports said a school in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh had made Dalit students sit separately in a “place used for horses” to watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Pariksha Par Charcha” programme on Friday. The event, which was held at a stadium in Delhi, was telecast in schools across India.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner of Police Yunus said it was a serious matter that Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sunny Sharma will look into, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

“We have sought a report in the next two days,” Yunus said. “Disciplinary action has already been initiated against the headmaster. If the incident is confirmed, criminal liability will be fixed.”

The Dalit students submitted their complaint to the deputy commissioner on Friday evening, reportedly in a Hindi notebook. The school in Kullu’s Chestha gram panchayat had made arrangements for students to watch the prime minister’s televised programme at the school management committee head’s house. The Dalit students claimed that a teacher, Mehar Chand, made them “sit in a place used for keeping horses” outside the room where the TV was set up.

In their complaint, the students also alleged that they faced “caste discrimination during midday meals”. “Students belonging to the Scheduled Caste category are made to sit separately,” they alleged. “Even the headmaster does nothing. He also practices untouchability.”

Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Suresh Bhardwa said he had asked the state education secretary to “get a report and seek stern action”. “I have also been told that Dalit students faced discrimination in the school earlier during midday meals,” he said. “If these reports are true, we will not spare the guilty.”

On Friday, the prime minister addressed over 3,500 school and college students at Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium, answering questions on how to prepare for exams and deal with the stress. Modi’s “Pariksha Par Charcha” programme was aired countrywide at all schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. He had also released a book on the subject.