SSC job losers march to DI offices across Bengal, face off with police
Times of India | 10 April 2025
12 Kolkata: A section of teachers and non-teaching staff of govt-aided schools in Bengal — rendered jobless after Supreme Court ruled their selection process "vitiated and tainted" last week — tried to break into school district inspector (DI) offices across the state in an organised show of strength on Wednesday, prompting scuffles and altercations with cops.
Around 12.45pm in Kasba, where around 200 protesters broke police barricades, forced open the iron lock at the gate and entered the DI office, the cops lathicharged the protesters. TV footage showed an officer — later identified as Ritam Das, a sub-inspector from Kasba PS — kicking a teacher in the chest and pushing another by the neck. At least six policemen and multiple demonstrators were injured.
The protesters, marching together, had reached the DI office in Kasba, near the police station, around 12.15pm. Their demand was to meet the DI and hand over a memorandum. The official was not present, and the protesters' anger continued to simmer.
Senior Kolkata Police officers and govt condemned the assault by the cop as "undesirable." Education minister Bratya Basu condemned the assault but also questioned the protesters' intent "after CM Mamata Banerjee and I personally met them to find a solution for reinstating the jobs of those who were untainted and deprived." Basu and the CM had on Monday met several thousand of those rendered jobless, assuring them that not a single "eligible" person would lose their job; the CM had promised to regularise their jobs in two months.
Among the job losers, there was a palpable sense of anger. "We worked with dignity and dedication. Yet, we find ourselves unemployed through no fault of our own," said Abhijit Byapari, a life science teacher from Ghuitary Sharif in South 24 Parganas, who taught at Namkhana Narayan Vidyamandir. "Our trust in the judiciary is shaken, which is why we came to protest and demand answers. But instead of being heard, we were met with violence," he added.
Within hours, chief secretary Manoj Pant called an urgent press conference at Nabanna, where Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Varma and IG law and order Jawed Shamim said the incident in Kolkata and elsewhere was "undesirable".
"These incidents should not have happened in the first place because we are all working together to find a solution," Pant said. "We don't expect this type of situation to ever arise, and we are appealing to the teachers to maintain peace. They should not take the law into their own hands. We are working for them, we are with them," he said, condemning the assault by cops.
Education minister Basu demanded to know why the protesters had gone to the DI offices, while saying that the police action on the protesters was "condemnable and disgraceful". "A meeting is scheduled this week (Friday afternoon). When govt is on their side, this protest could have been postponed for a while. However, we will keep our word and make arrangements to save their jobs," he said.
By evening, the protesters appeared to speak in differing voices. While one section urged their comrades protesters not to do anything that could "shift the direction of the protest", others, such as Mehbub Mondal, who was on the dais with CM Banerjee on Monday and was beaten up in Kasba, who said: "Protest is the only way forward for us. Meetings may happen but protests will also go on."
The protests were not limited to Kolkata. In Hooghly, protesters blocked GT Road and locked the DI office gate. Malda witnessed scuffles between police and protesters near Atul Market, while in Balurghat, demonstrators successfully occupied the DI office. Tamluk saw protesters preventing the DI from entering the office; in Nadia's Krishnanagar, demonstrators blocked roads by burning tyres.
The city police commissioner initially defended the force, saying that the cops were attacked first. He said four officers were injured, one of them seriously. A sergeant from Kasba PS, Tanmay Mondal, was severely injured and is under intensive care after a brick landed on him.
Varma said TV channels had shown only the part where the cop was assaulting protesters, but not the part where the police came under attack. "We have video footage," he said. "The mob became unruly and the situation was getting out of control. So, a mild baton charge was conducted to manage it. I fully agree that the visual of police kicking and assaulting protesters is not desirable. But what is being shown on TV is a part of the incident. Another part, where police were attacked, has not been shown. Our senior officers, led by DCPs, are camping there. They will submit a report. We will take action depending on the report."
A departmental investigation has been started against the Kasba PS sub-inspector who was seen kicking a protester. He will be placed under suspension pending enquiry, police sources said.
The chief secretary said state govt had filed a clarificatory petition in Supreme Court, and that a legal team was working to file a review petition. "No such incident should happen, which may pose a legal impediment. We appeal to the protesters to maintain peace and abide by the law," he said.