UP Minister Defends Headmaster Who Attacked Education Officer, Claims Prior Harassment

Lucknow:

Uttar Pradesh's Minister of Technical Education Ashish Patel has described the recent assault incident in Sitapur as extremely unfortunate.

In a Hindi post on X, he stated, "The Sitapur teacher incident is extremely unfortunate. Brijendra Verma, a hardworking, honest and regular school attendee, was harassed to the point of losing his temper. It is unfair to unilaterally blame a teacher based on a mere 20-second video clip.

"Based on the review of the CCTV footage from the time he entered the BSA office until the end, strict action should be taken against whoever is found guilty. What were the circumstances that led to the teacher committing this act? The truth must be revealed."

Patel mentioned he has discussed the matter with Basic Education Minister Sandeep Singh who assured him that the incident would be investigated impartially and strict action would be taken against anyone found guilty.

According to officials, a basic education officer (BEO) was allegedly assaulted in his office by a headmaster during an inquiry into a complaint from the staff of his school in Sitapur district on Tuesday.

BEO Akhilesh Pratap Singh told media that Verma, the headmaster of the Nadwa Primary School in the Mahmudabad area of Sitapur, was harassing an assistant teacher of the school.

After receiving a complaint about the matter, the BEO summoned the headmaster to his office to discuss the issue. Singh began the inquiry by having both the headmaster and the assistant teacher face each other.

"When everyone present indicated that the headmaster was guilty, he suddenly became enraged, took out his belt and attacked me," Singh claimed.

Following the assault, the headmaster was handed over to police and has been suspended from his position by the BEO with immediate effect, officials reported.