The headmaster of a primary school in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri was suspended and arrested after a video of him assaulting a female shiksha mitra went viral on social media. The incident happened on Friday at a government primary school under the Kheri police station limits.
An FIR was lodged against headmaster Ajit Kumar Verma and he was subsequently arrested under Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
#WATCH | Principal of a government school in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur thrashed a female teacher with shoes
(Source: Viral video) pic.twitter.com/hCRiMuVsgV
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 24, 2022
In the viral video, the headmaster can be seen assaulting shiksha mitra Seema Devi with a shoe in the presence of students and others at the school.
Lakhimpur Kheri Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Laxmikant Pandey said that a probe committee has been instituted to investigate the incident. “Devi’s allegation is that she was beaten up, which is clear from the video. There was an issue between them regarding attendance. Verma said that she would not be allowed to sign her attendance for the day, due to which the row happened and then it escalated. Verma was immediately suspended, and a committee of three members is conducting a probe,” said Pandey.
Devi lodged a complaint at the local police station, based on which an FIR was lodged against Verma. The complaint reads, “Ajit Kumar Verma has been harassing me for two years for signature in attendance book. On June 24, when I reached the school at 7.35 am, he crossed my name and when I asked him why he was doing so, he started beating me up with shoes. He also hit me with a stick.”
Verma has been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Kheri Station House Officer Pramod Kumar Mishra said Verma was arrested to prevent the commission of cognizable offence. “We are looking into the allegations and further probe is underway,” said Mishra.
