Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh police have arrested three teachers of a madarsa on the charge of refusing to allow the students to sing the national anthem at an Independence Day event on Wednesday.

A video that has gone viral shows headmaster Azlur Rahman hoist the national flag at the Madarsa Arabia Ahle Girl's College at Bargo village in Maharajganj district, 360km east of Lucknow, where girls study till Class XII and boys till Class VIII.

A man in black trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt, who is accompanied by three or four people, then asks the students to start singing the national anthem. Local journalists identified the man as Sunil Tripathi, Hindi teacher at the madarsa, and his companions as outsiders.

Zunaid Ansari, an Urdu/Farsi teacher in white kurta-pyjamas (as identified by the police), says the students will not sing the national anthem and would prefer to sing Sare Jahan Se Achchha.

Immediately Tripathi's companions take a few steps forward. One of them shouts: "We won't let this happen. You must sing the national anthem."

Zunaid says: "Why don't you understand that our religion doesn't allow us to sing the national anthem?"

The students watch silently. Tripathi orders them: "This is about nationalism. Start singing the national anthem, all of you."

An unseen man tries to mediate, asking Zunaid to let the students sing the national anthem.

"Are you not a Muslim?" Zunaid shouts. "None will sing... no student will sing."

Another man - whom police identified as Urdu/Farsi teacher Mohammad Nizam - supports Zunaid.

"Give me the phone," Tripathi tells one of his companions, identified by the police as Umesh Yadav. Tripathi tries to make a call, is unsuccessful, and hurls the mobile phone to the ground in disgust.

"Why are you silent?" he asks headmaster Azlur.

Zunaid, Nizam and Azlur have been arrested on a complaint from Yadav under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, district superintendent of police R.P. Singh said.

Under the act, whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the national anthem or disturbs any assembly engaged in such singing can be fined or jailed for up to three years.

District magistrate Amarnath Upadhyaya said: "I have asked the district welfare officer to conduct a probe."

The Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Education Board had asked all aided institutions to sing the national anthem on Republic Day and Independence Day and furnish video recordings of the events.

Mohammad Ziaul Haq, manager of an aided school in Allahabad, had been arrested in August 2016 for preventing pre-Independence Day rehearsals for the singing of the national anthem. He is out on bail.