Headmaster beats students for chanting Vande Matram

VARANASI: Headmaster of a primary school in Mirzapur was suspended on Friday for allegedly beating up students for chanting ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. Though the parents claimed the children were beaten up three days ago, BSA Pravin Mani Tiwari said initial probe suggested that the incident had taken place about a year ago.

Headmaster of a primary school in Mirzapur was suspended on Friday for allegedly beating up students for chanting ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

Though the parents claimed that the children were beaten up three days ago, basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Pravin Mani Tiwari said initial probe suggested that the incident had taken place about a year ago.

According to education department officials, five students of classes 2, 4 and 5 at a primary school in Jafrani in Sherwa area of Ghazipur district complained to their parents that their headmaster Shahid Faizal beat them up when they chanted ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. The parents lodged a complaint with block education officer Pradeep Mishra.

Terming the allegations baseless, the headmaster claimed that he had only asked the students to attend the school regularly. “Enraged over this, the parents lodged a false complaint against me,” Faizal said. The BSA said the headmaster had been suspended and further investigations were on. “Initial probe has revealed that he had stopped students from chanting Vande Matram about a year ago. This will be confirmed only when the investigation is over,” Tiwari said. Sub-divisional magistrate Dr Avinash Tripathi also visited the school.