E-Paper
Five office-bearers of private school booked for harassment, extortion of staff
Bharati Vidyapeeth Police on Monday lodged a case of harassment and extortion against five persons, including the president, secretary and principal of a private school in Katraj
PUNE The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police on Monday lodged a case of harassment and extortion against five persons including the president, secretary and principal of a private school in Katraj.
The complaint was filed by 11 staff members who alleged mental, physical and financial harassment, including extortion and criminal intimidation, by the administration.
In their complaint, the teachers stated that they were being harassed by the accused management members, including the principal, for the past ten to twelve years where they have been subjected to casteist abuse, assigned labour type work, summary suspensions, sub-human treatment, working on holidays, longer working hours and threats of job termination.
The state government on February 6, 2023, issued a gazette notification announcing that 60 per cent of grants have been sanctioned for teaching and non-teaching positions. If society sends our completed files to the education department, then only compliance can be made with receiving teacher salaries as per the state government notice.
On March 8, 2023, the accused called the complainants in the society office where the accused instructed them to pay ₹ 5,000 per teacher as file processing charges and pay 10 per cent of their monthly salary to the society till retirement.
The accused threatened to terminate their services if the monthly percentage of salary was not paid to society, the complaint stated.
Police inspector Dasrath Patil, incharge of Bharati Vidyapeeth police station, said, “The management members had accepted money both online and in other forms from the teachers. We have lodged a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 384 and 34 against the accused.
HT reached out to the school office but did not receive any response.
