NEW DELHI: The principal and two teachers of a girl’s senior secondary school in North Delhi have been suspended for ordering the stripping of more than 50 of their students to search for a sum of Rs 150 allegedly stolen from the purse of a student.
Shail Bala Gupta principal Urmila Gambhir librarian and a physical education teacher were suspended by the management committee of the Lakshmi Devi Jain Government Senior Secondary School at Pahari Dhiraj.
Narrating the incident Delhi Administration Director of Education V.P.Suri said here Saturday that a class X student had complained to the principal Friday that someone had stolen Rs 150 from her purse.
Gupta immediately ordered a search of the bags of the students of X XI and XII classes. When the search proved futly the principal ordered the girls to be taken to a separate room and stripped.
A section of the girls vehemently protested and offered to pool in protest for complaining the complainant’s loss but the principal insisted on tracing and punishing the culprit. The money however could not be recovered even after this.
Tension mounted in the area as hundreds of irate students and residents gathered in front of the school.
The police had to rush in reinforcements to prevent the situation from getting out of control according to officials at the Bara Hindu Rao police station.
According to the parents of some class X students even the undergarments of some girls were removed. When they protested they were thrashed they said.
Suri said the class teacher of one section X class refused to strip the students.
The Director said he had also ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident the first of its kind in the capital.
The inquiry would be conducted by an education officer who would submit his report to the Directorate of Education within three to four days he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 27, 1991
