In a horrific incident that took place on Thursday, a female teacher in West Bengal was assaulted and stripped by a mob of guardians of some students after she had scolded a girl studying in the student. The incident took place in Trimohini Pratap Chandra High Secondary School in South Dinjapur, and even though three days have passed since the incident, police have taken no action against the culprits.
As reports, on Thursday when class nine student Jarnatun Khatoon was loitering on the veranda of the school instead of being in the class, teacher Chaitali Chaki had scolded Khatoon by holding her ear. Jarnatun alleged that the teacher also slapped her on back, and her hijab had slipped down from her head at that time.
After the parents of Jarnatun learnt about the incident after she reached home, the family members and others in the area reached the school. They were enraged that the teacher had hit the student causing her hijab to fall down. They entered the staff room of the school and assaulted the teacher. They also almost stripped Chaitali Chaki during the assault by pulling her cloths. Other teachers were shocked to see this but they could not stop the mob.
A video of the incident that appeared on social media shows a huge commotion inside the staff room, where the guardians, some of them wearing skullcaps, are seen assaulting the female teacher.
Chaitali Chaki, a teacher of Trimohini Pratapchandra High School of Hili, South Dinajpur allegedly scolded a student, Jarnatun Khatun, by holding her ear for roaming around during class. After that, guardians of student attacked school & reportedly physically abused the teacher. pic.twitter.com/MyGamS97rp
— Prasun Maitra(প্রসূন মৈত্র) (@prasunmaitra) July 24, 2022
This incident caused a massive tension in and around the school, and police forces were deployed to prevent any more violence. On the next day, the joint BDO and the district school inspector visited the school to take stock of the situation.
Notably, on Friday, a day after the incident, principal of the school Kamal Kumar Jain had claimed that the matter has been resolved after a compromise by between the two parties. But soon it was found to be incorrect, as while a meeting beween the two parties was held, there was no compromise. Later the principal himself went the police station along with teacher Chaitali Chaki to file a case in the matter. In the complaint, several persons including Firdous Mandal, Afruza Mandal, Zakir Hossen, Masud Khatoon and Mafooja Khatoon have been named.
While the students and other parents are demanding action against the mob for assaulting the teacher, nobody has been nabbed by police so far. As a result, protests were carried out on Saturday in the entire South Dinjapur district demanding action against the culprits. Multiple complaints have been already filed with the police by several people and organisations in this regard, including local BJP leaders.
Students of several schools in the area came out in protest yesterday and blocked National Highway 512. They were joined by several former students and parents. However later police removed from the spot to clear the road, after a large number of vehicles were stuck due to the blockade.
In a separate protest, teachers from several local schools held a protest march wearing back cloths on their faces. They were carrying placards condemning the incident and demanding quick action. All Bengal Teachers Association also held a protest rally at Balurghat condemning the attack.
