The teacher-in-charge of a secondary school for girls in Behala has alleged that the institute was broken into and around ₹10,000 was stolen from an almirah.
Behala Banitirtha Girls High School had been shut since Friday for Holi celebrations. The break-in was discovered on Sunday morning when the institution’s caretaker turned up.
The teacher-in-charge, Sharmistha Chakraborty, said locks on at least three gates and those on the collapsible gates leading to the headmistress’s room and the office room were broken.
The school has lodged a complaint at Parnashree police station.
“Seven almirahs of the institution were broken and their lockers opened. The keys to these almirahs were with me,” Chakraborty told Metro.
A four-storeyed building on RK Sarani in Behala’s Vivekananda Pally houses primary and secondary sections of the school.
The primary section — Classes I to V — is located on the ground floor and wasn’t affected by the break-in. The remaining floors accommodate around 100 students from Classes VI to X in the secondary section.
The break-in and the theft took place on the first floor of the school building.
On Sunday, the caretaker of the secondary section arrived at 9.10am.
“On my way to the first floor, I found the lock of the first grill gate broken. Stepping ahead, I saw the lock on the second grill gate was also broken. The second gate connects the school office, teachers’ room and headmistress’ room,” said Sachin Sardar, the school’s lone caretaker.
The school building does not have CCTV cameras.
Chakraborty said keeping cash in the school was not a usual practice.
“Normally, we do not keep cash in school, but since the Class X exams were going on and some furniture had to be repaired, I had kept some cash in hand,” she said.
“We will hold a meeting on Monday over the school’s safety,” Chakraborty said.
A police team visited the school on Sunday morning.