Dalit girl harassed after refusing to help cheat in exam

VEERPAL TOPPED THE SCHOOL WITH 82% MARKS, BUT HER NAME IS STILL NOT ON THE HONOURS BOARD

: A Dalit girl studying at a government school in Nabha subdivision of Patiala district and her family are allegedly being harassed after she refused to help three upper-caste boys cheat in their examination.

Veerpal Kaur, a student of Class 11 at Government Senior Secondary School, Tohra, had filed a complaint in this regard with the Punjab State Scheduled Castes (SC) Commission in November and an inquiry was marked to a Patiala deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Jaskirat Singh.

The girl was allegedly pressurised by school clerk Jasveer Singh to help his nephew and his friends cheat in the Class 10 board examination last year, it was found during the probe. Subsequently, the three boys flunked their exam.

Veerpal had topped the school with 82% marks, though her name is missing on the honours list so far.

Ironically, the village is in the constituency of scheduled castes/backward classes (SC/ BC) welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.

In May last year, a video in which the girl being pushed around by some boys and the clerk on the school campus had gone viral.

After the results were out, a note was circulated on social media claiming that Veerpal secured good marks since she was helped by a teacher on phone while she was taking the exam.

Veerpal, who also takes tuitions to help her family, took up the video incident with school principal Jagjit Singh Bhatia who assured to take action. When she along with her parents went to the school, they were allegedly manhandled by the principal, clerk and some boys.

A video of this too went viral. "We were pressurised and the school staff had apologised for the incident,” said Veerpal Kaur.

HT has a copy of an apology letter (submitted at the Bhadson police station) written by two boys who confessed to have spread rumours that Veerpal cheated in her exam at the behest of clerk Jasveer Singh.

Veerpal alleged that the school principal and some teachers discriminate against her on the basis on her caste. “They say what will a girl from my community do by studying this much. They make me sit in the back and some teachers don’t answer to my queries,” she said.

School principal Bhatia outright refuted the allegations.

FAMILY TOO FACES SOCIAL HUMILIATION

Veerpal’s family, which lives at Saiwal near Tohra, is also facing harassment at the hands of upper caste villagers as two of the boys who had failed are also from the same village.

Veerpal’s father Hari singh, a labourer, said they were refused water from their neighbourhood and the local school where they would get water earlier.

He claimed that dead dogs were buried next to their house and village waste was dumped there.

DSP Jaskirat refused to comment saying the inquiry is being conducted and the report will be submitted.