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Authorities in Chhattisgarh have suspended the headmistress of a government school after a Class 4 English examination paper listed “Ram” as one of the possible answers to a question about a person’s dog, officials said on Monday.

The incident occurred at a government school in Nakti village in Raipur district’s Tilda block. The headmistress, identified as Shikha Soni, said the option was meant to read “Ramu” but the final letter was omitted by mistake.

A contractual assistant teacher who moderated the paper also failed to notice the error, officials said, adding that proceedings had been initiated to terminate her services.

Both teachers said there was no intention to hurt religious sentiments and issued apologies following the controversy.

However, members of Hindu groups including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal filed complaints with the district administration and police, after which a case was registered against unidentified persons under a non-bailable provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to acts intended to outrage religious feelings.

District Education Officer Himanshu Bhartiya ordered an inquiry into the matter and constituted a five-member committee to investigate the complaint.

“Ram is a revered deity in Hinduism, and including the name as an answer option has hurt religious sentiments,” Bhartiya was quoted as saying.

The education department also issued warning letters to the block education officer for failing to appoint an experienced teacher to prepare the question paper and to the school principal for not ensuring proper moderation, officials said.