A government school teacher in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, has been suspended following allegations that she forced Class 9 and 11 girls to undress during a search for her missing money. The incident prompted protests from parents and villagers, leading the education department to launch an investigation and suspend the accused teacher.
A teacher in a government school in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur was suspended on Wednesday after she allegedly made Class 9 and 11 girls remove their clothes during a search after her money went missing, officials said. The main gate of the Government Senior Secondary School in Livali village under the Bamanwas sub-division was sealed by parents and villagers who staged a protest in response to charges of improper conduct with the female students.
The incident happened on Tuesday, according to the officials, when Saraswati Meena, a senior Hindi instructor, lost almost Rs 1,000. They claimed that Meena reportedly started a search after suspecting pupils in Classes 9 and 11 and forced the girls to undress. The education department has suspended the accused teacher and sent a letter to start disciplinary proceedings against the school principal after conducting an investigation.
However, denying the allegations, Meena said that “Around Rs 1,000 had gone missing. Students were questioned in that regard. Allegations of making them remove clothes are baseless. Being a female teacher, I considered it appropriate to question only the girl students.”
The girls were allegedly requested to take off their clothing during the search, which caused them psychological discomfort, according to students and their relatives. After going home, the students told their families, which infuriated the villagers.
On Wednesday morning, a large number of villagers and parents gathered at the school, locked its main gate and staged a protest. Before notifying higher authorities, Chief Block Education Officer (CBEO) Pratibha Meena also arrived at the scene, chatted with the pupils one-on-one, and gathered information on the occurrence.
A departmental investigation has been launched against the accused teacher, according to Bharatpur division Joint Director of School Education Dalveer Singh, based on the information provided by the District Education Officer headquarters.
Singh said the teacher has been suspended with immediate effect under Rule 13 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1958. During the suspension period, her headquarters have been shifted to the CBEO office in Rajakhera (Dholpur).
Parents also alleged that some teachers tried to pressure the students not to make the incident public. The CBEO assured a fair inquiry and action against those found guilty as per the rules.