Mystery over teacher appointment as political tension rises in Bengal following student deaths | Kolkata - Hindustan Times
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Mystery over teacher appointment as political tension rises in Bengal following student deaths

Hindustan Times | By, Kolkata
Sep 22, 2018 01:34 PM IST

The mob that gathered at the school was armed with sticks, bombs and firearms, alleged district police chief on Friday.

As political tension rose in Bengal on Friday after bullets claimed the lives of two students during an agitation in a school, two questions rang out loud -- why was precedence given to appointment of Sanskrit and Urdu teachers when the students were demanding those of science and humanities and who opened fire on the protesters in the school.

Education minister Partha Chatterjee has said that the role of everyone in the entire incident would be investigated.(HT Photo)
Education minister Partha Chatterjee has said that the role of everyone in the entire incident would be investigated.(HT Photo)

North Dinajpur district superintendent of police Sumit Kumar denied on Friday that they opened fire. But he revealed that another protester and a policeman were admitted to hospital with bullet injuries.

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“The mob that gathered at the school was armed with sticks, bombs and firearms. They rained stones and bombs on the police. One police constable has also suffered gunshot injuries. Two ex-students have died of bullet injuries while a third agitator with suspected gunshot injuries is admitted in a hospital,” said Kumar.

“We are investigating who opened fire,” he added.

On the political front, questions were raised on why was precedence given to the appointment of teachers that the students did not need.

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“The district inspector of schools has been suspended because his role raises suspicion. The role of the headmaster also needs to be probed,” education minister Partha Chatterjee said.

On Thursday, Rajesh Sarkar (19) and Tapas Barman (21), two former students of the Darivit High School suffered bullet injuries when violence broke out after Sanskrit teacher Tauranga Mallick and Urdu teacher Md. Sanaullah went to the school in Islampur to join service.

While Sarkar, the Darivit unit secretary of RSS student wing Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), died on the spot, Barman, also an ABVP organiser, succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

Read: Death toll in police firing in Bengal’s Islampur rises to two; bandh hits normal life

“A high-level independent probe is required to unearth the truth behind the authority’s preference. It could be nepotism, it could well be the ruling party’s policy of appeasement that Urdu was given preference,” Dilip Ghosh said.

“A commission headed by a retired judge should find out who opened fire,” he added.

The Trinamool, the Left and the Congress have accused the Sangh Parivar for trying to ‘communalise’ the issue.

“Across Bengal, leaders of RSS, BJP and ABVP are inciting people by mentioning only Urdu. This is condemnable. We strongly suspect nepotism by Trinamool’s influential behind the entire fiasco but the saffron camp is trying to give it a communal turn,” said Badaruddoza Khan, CPI(M) MP from Murshidabad and a leader of the All Bengal Teachers’ Association.

Incidentally, the statement issued by ABVP’s central office secretary Neeraj Chaudharkar mentions only Udru and blames ‘Mamata’s politics of appeasement’ for the death of its activists.

“RSS is directly involved in fomenting the trouble. Why were outsiders agitating in the school?” Partha Chatterjee said.

Meanwhile, North Dinajpur school authorities announced on Friday that the decision to appoint teachers for Sanskrit and Urdu at Darivit High School has been revoked.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, principal correspondent, Hindustan Times, Kolkata, has been covering politics, socio-economic and cultural affairs for over 10 years. He takes special interest in monitoring developments related to Maoist insurgency and religious extremism.

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