The Bidhannagar North police have sent a notice to 15 teachers protesting in front of Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the state education department in Kolkata’s Salt Lake and summoned them for allegedly damaging government property and obstructing public servants from performing their duties during the violent clashes on Thursday.
The police summons to the teachers states that if they do not appear before the Bidhannagar North police station before May 21, they are liable for arrest under Section 35(6) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), an officer said.
A senior police officer from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, speaking to The Indian Express, alleged that a total of 21 police personnel were injured during the incident. “One officer, Bhawna Das from the Barrackpore police force, suffered a fractured nose and broken teeth. The police’s primary objective was to bring those inside Bikash Bhawan outside safely,” said the officer, while recounting the events of Thursday.
The officer further said that the police filed a suo motu case over the clashes and if any person who was trapped inside during the protests files a complaint, it will be investigated.
He also said that the protesting teachers threw bricks and bottles, and forensic reports will be examined to determine whether the injuries were caused by the lathi charge or the items hurled during the protests.
Teachers under the banner of Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM) have been protesting their job losses with a sit-in outside Bikash Bhavan, after the Supreme Court in April annulled the appointments of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff recruited through the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) examinations.
Chinmoy Mondol, one of the representatives of the teachers’ protest, told the Indian Express, “Individual notices have been sent via WhatsApp, and more will follow. We are consulting with our lawyers to determine the next steps. It’s not just those who received the notice; all of us will go to the police station. Why are we being harassed? We are not afraid; we have done nothing wrong that would warrant jail time. We are speaking the truth and fighting for our rights.”
According to sources, the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken notice of the situation where children were taken to a protest site for open classes. The Commission believes that the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, may have been violated in this case and have requested a report from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate to investigate how children were brought to the site, say sources.
Meanwhile, the protesting school teachers continued their protest for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday outside the state education department headquarters in Salt Lake.
Arpita Sengupta, a teacher with seven years of experience at a school in Purba Bardhaman, was seen sitting on the footpath, checking answer sheets of Class 8 students from her school.
“I have 120 answer papers. The Supreme Court has stated that we have our jobs until December 31, so I have a responsibility towards my students. That is why I am sitting here in protest against the injustice done to us, but I will not do an injustice to my students, so I am checking their papers,” she said while speaking to media persons.
“We had faith in the government, but they have let us down. Later, we discovered that the government did not provide accurate information in court, which has led to our suffering. We don’t want to be on the streets; we want to return to the classroom,” she added.
Moumita Haldar, a teacher who suffered a brain stroke after childbirth in 2022, is now limited to teaching. Her husband Prosenjit Das comes to the protest site every day to demand justice for his wife. “My wife had a brain stroke. The only thing she can do is sit and teach. She cannot handle the pressure of studying and taking exams,” he said.
On Saturday, Mayor Firhad Hakim lashed out at the teachers’ movement, stating that those protesting on the roads are primarily those looking for media attention. “The Supreme Court’s verdict can only be changed at the Supreme Court itself; protesting in front of Bikash Bhavan will not alter it. Blocking roads and preventing people from entering offices to go home is harassment. This is drama, not protest,” he said.
His comment drew further criticism from the protesting teachers.
“We have witnessed a lot of drama from these leaders as well. If we were the ones putting on a show, would we be sitting on the streets and enduring such inhumane treatment from the police? Our demand is to have our jobs reinstated with dignity,” said Mondol.