SC Commission asks girl to file objections to police clean chit

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Nabha, April 16 

A Dalit girl of Sahiwal village, who had accused her school staff of harassment and making casteist remarks, finds herself in a dilemma as the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes has now sought her objection to the clean chit given by the police to the school staff.

An inquiry was conducted by DSP (Traffic) Jaskirat Singh. In his report, he said the allegations were not proved. 

The report further added that two youngsters — Pardeep and Mukesh — had filed a complaint with the school principal in which they accused the mathematics teacher of helping Dalit girl Veerpal Kaur in cheating during the board exams. 

The report said when they again came to the school to enquire about action taken on their complaint, they saw the girl’s father and other relatives manhandling the school clerk. The report said the family also attacked the boys. 

“In a video clip, both parties were seen fighting, but none of them went to the hospital for medico legal report. Both parties reached a compromise at the Bhadson police station, fearing registration of a case,” reads the report, a copy of which is with The Tribune. 

The incident dates back to December 2017 when Veerpal Kaur of Sahiwal village had written to the Punjab State SC Commission about the alleged discrimination by schoolteachers on the basis of her caste at the school at Tohra. 

She had accused two upper caste boys of her village and school clerk of manhandling her in May 2017 as she had “refused to help the boys and a nephew of the clerk in cheating during board exams” due to which the boys had failed. 

The girl alleged the boys had uploaded a false note on the social media, accusing her of cheating in exams about which she had already complained to the principal. 

She had stated that the clerk and boys manhandled her father who had gone to enquire about action taken on her complaint. 

As the matter got highlighted, the whole school staff, including 15 teachers, school principal, clerk and peons, were transferred by the Education Department on the recommendations of Patiala Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit.

Veerpal said she was feeling embarrassed by the police report and added that Dalit organistions had provided a lawyer to file the reply to the Commission. 

Malvinder Singh Jaggi, a member secretary of the commission, said they were awaiting the reply from the girl. He said the case would be decided only after receiving the reply from Veerpal and her family.