Akal Takht forms panel to probe SC girl’s harassment

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 12

Taking cognisance of the alleged harassment case of a Scheduled Caste (SC) student of government school at Tohra in Patiala, the Akal Takht today directed the state government to initiate departmental action against the guilty.

The Akal Takht Jathedar also constituted a two-member committee comprising local SGPC member and manager of Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib to probe the instance.

Veerpal Kaur, an SC girl student of class XI at Government Senior Secondary School, Tohra village, had alleged that she was subjected to mental harassment by teachers and her fellow mates after she had refused to oblige a relative of a school clerk in copying during the matriculation examination last year.

Stressing that the Dalit strata of society was an integral part of Sikhism, the Jathedar directed the state government to take exemplary action against the guilty school employees.

“Guru Gobind Singh, had termed them as ‘Rangrete Guru ke bete’. Their sacrifices for the Panth cannot be ignored. Moreover, women have been placed in high esteem in Sikhism. In this case, the names of three Sikh teachers have surfaced who reportedly used caste-based remarks to humiliate a bright student. The government should take exemplary action against the guilty persons so that such an instance is not repeated,” he said.

BSP threatens stir

Nabha: Leaders of the BSP led by its general secretary Baldev Singh Mehra on Friday visited the house of Veerpal Kaur at Sahiawal village to enquire into harassment charges. Addressing mediapersons, Mehra said if the state government failed to provide justice to the aggrieved girl by Monday, the party would stage dharnas in front of the DC offices in all districts of the state. He said no official of the district administration or Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot visited the girl’s house to hear her grievance. Paramjt Singh Kainth, President of the National Scheduled Caste Alliance, said it was unfortunate that Dharamsot did not visit Veerpal’s house during his visit to her school in Tohra. TNS