A principal of a secondary school in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur has been suspended for allegedly beating up students for not greeting him with ‘As- Salaam-Alaikum’, officials said on Tuesday.
Students of Bilhari Secondary School in Tilhar area told visiting principal secretary and nodal officer of the district, Dimple Verma, on Sunday their principal Chand Mian demanded that they should greet him with “As-Salaam-Alaikum”. They said he beat up those who wished him with a “good morning”.
‘As- Salaam-Alaikum’ is a religious salutation among Muslims and means ‘Peace be upon you’ in Arabic.
Chief development officer Prerna Sharma said one of the students even showed injury marks on his neck to the visiting official.
The student was sent for a medical examination and the preliminary inquiry report has been handed over to basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Rakesh Kumar.
“Principal Chand Mian has prima facie been found guilty and has been suspended. Further inquiry is on,” Kumar said.
Mian rejected the allegations and said it was a conspiracy to defame him.
(With PTI inputs)