Jaipur: In a shocking incident, a senior teacher at a government school in Rajasthan allegedly made girl students take off their clothes to search for some money which reportedly went missing.
The teacher has been suspended.
An amount of Rs 500 was apparently stolen from the Hindi teacher Saraswati Meena at the Government Senior Secondary School, Liwali, in the Bamanwas sub-division of Sawai Madhopur district. Suspecting girl students of classes IX and XI to have taken the money, the teacher asked them to remove their clothes. She also threatened that any girl who did not remove her clothes will have to immediately pay Rs 500.
A d
ay after the incident, a large number of villagers including family members of the harassed girls gathered at the school, raising slogans against the teacher and staging a sit-in protest at the school’s main gate. Students also joined the protest.
The protesters warned school authorities they would continue the demonstration until action was taken against the accused teacher.
On receiving news of the incident, Chief Block Education Officer (CBEO) Pratibha Meena arrived at the scene. Sensing the gravity of the situation from the students’ statements, Pratibha submitted a detailed report to higher authorities.
“I received information about the incident involving senior Hindi teacher Saraswati Meena, specifically reports that female students were made to remove their clothes. After speaking with the students and verifying the facts, we found that the incident took place and it was reported to our department’s senior officials subsequently,” Pratibha said.
Taking serious note of the matter, the department’s Joint Director suspended the accused teacher with immediate effect.
The school’s vocational education instructor Vandana Sharma has also been relieved of her duties.
An inquiry has been initiated into the role of school principal Manoj Kumar Meena.