A teacher was slapped by a sarpanch belonging to the ruling Akali Dal during a function in the Muktsar district in Punjab.The woman teacher, Barinder Pal Kaur, wanted to submit a memo demanding permanent jobs to Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an MP and the daughter-in-law of Punjab's chief minister. Balwinder Singh, the sarpanch of Daula, was among those trying to force a group of teachers to leave the function."All of a sudden he hit me. There was no provocation," said Barinder. An FIR has been registered against Mr Singh for assaulting Ms Kaur."The sarpanch still says he hasn't committed any mistake and has not apologised to me," she later told NDTV.Harsimrat Kaur promised action against the sarpanch. "I condemn the incident. It happened before I came there. There can be no reason to hit a woman. I will speak with the Superintendent of Police as well that action should be taken," said Mrs Badal."With the support I'm getting, I hope I'll get justice," Barinder told NDTV.The police says it is investigating the assault, but dozens of policemen were looking on when the sarpanch attacked the hapless teacher."The SSP, DSP and the SHO-level officers were standing there but no one came forward to help me; they didn't even take any action," the teacher said.The incident has evoked strong reactions. Shah Rukh Khan tweeted, "Just saw a male sarpanch slap and rough up a woman teacher on TV...disgusting & should be punished for sure..."

The Congress says this just shows how insensitive the state administration is. And with assembly elections just a few months away, the Akali Dal could have done without such a dent in its image.