U’khand CM orders 57-yr-old teacher’s suspension and arrest for ‘misbehaviour’ at his janata darbar

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat’s alleged behaviour at his Janata Darbar session would have certainly won him no accolades from his teachers on Thursday. He ordered the arrest of school teacher Uttara Bahuguna, 57, after her alleged misbehaviour with him. She had gone to meet him at the state capital, to take up the long-pending matter of her transfer to Dehradun after 25 years of serving in remote, mountainous areas. Since her husband's death three years ago, she has been fighting for a transfer to Dehradun, where her children live.

She met CM Rawat four months ago but he had failed to take action. All she received was a call that her application had been forwarded to the education secretary. She then decided to take her request to his capital darbar. In a video of the incident, which went viral, Bahuguna is seen arguing with Chief Minister Rawat after he allegedly dismissed her transfer request.

"I spoke to the chief minister but he did nothing. I asked him the reason. He suddenly raised his hand and said you are a teacher, behave yourself," Bahuguna said on Friday. He also ordered her suspension, after she allegedly used abusive language and showed indecency. Rawat is heard shouting, "Suspend karo ise abhi (Suspend her immediately). Take her into police custody," following which she was taken out of the hall. In the video clip, she can be seen screaming at the CM and shouting "Thief, cheats," as she is led out of the meeting. She was arrested on charges of "disrupting an important gathering" and let off hours later on bail.

After the incident, Chief Minister Rawat said that the request for transfers must not be brought to a platform meant for hearing public grievances. "All transfers of government employees will be done under the state's Transfer Act," he said to PTI.

"I am not afraid, I haven't done anything wrong. I was just asking for my rights," Bahuguna said.

Earlier on Friday, former chief minister Harish Rawat demanded that her suspension be revoked. "Our system has become so insensitive that a widowed teacher remained posted in a remote area for 25 years and no one listened to her. I advise the Chief Minister to direct police to release her and revoke her suspension," the former chief minister said.