A government school at Ward-8 in BiharтАЩs Bhagalpur has been locked for over a week after the teachers alleged that they were asked to stop teaching and threatened with dire consequences by local musclemen.
According to Muni Ram Khetan M S Nathnagar Sadar Middle School teachers, the goons have been demanding extortion for the functioning of the school and threatened to kill the teachers if they enter the school.
Speaking to HT, district education officer (DEO) Sanjay Kumar on Thursday said that they have suspended school in-charge and headmaster Pankaj Moses and if the teachers donтАЩt attend the school, action will be taken against them too.
Moses has alleged that a muscleman identified as Vikrant Kumar alias Puran Sah and his associates have been threatening him and the assistant teachers of killing them if they tried to enter the school.
тАЬI have lodged a complaint with local police and intimated the superior authorities of the department,тАЭ he said, adding that no action has so far been taken.
тАЬThe functioning of a school is not possible under repeated threats,тАЭ a teacher said, adding тАЬLife is more precious than a job and we are afraid something bad would happen if we go to school.тАЭ
Nathnagar police station house officer (SHO) Mahtab Alam said, тАЬWe have received a complaint from teachers and police are probing the matter.тАЭ
Locals have alleged that neither police nor any official of the education department has visited the school for a week.
According to the locals, during the last five years, the school has been locked dozens of times and no step has been taken to sort out the problem permanently.
