After police ire, teachers face severe charges; 11 booked

Gurdeep Singh Mann

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 6

Severe sections of the IPC have been slapped on 11 representatives of the ETT teachers’ union that held a protest here yesterday.

They have been booked under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 283 (causing danger or obstruction in way or line of navigation), 149 (unlawful assembly), and 160 (punishment for committing affray), besides Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Section 65 of the National Highway Act.

If proved guilty, the court may sentence the arrested teachers for one month to three years in jail and slap penalties.

The teachers, under the aegis of Shaheed Kiranjeet Kaur EGS-AIE-STR Union, are protesting the delay in releasing of their “meagre” salary of Rs5,000 for two months. They also blamed the state government for not putting their work on records of the Education Department so that they could not stake claim to regular jobs.

“By not showing our work on their records, the government would take the plea that since we haven’t done any teaching work we cannot be offered regular jobs,” said Ramajeet Kaur, district in charge of the union.

Ramajeet said there were around 7,000 primary schoolteachers across the state. She alleged the union leaders had been booked while others were released after being beaten up by the police. “A teacher, Anu Thakur of Hoshiarpur, was severely injured in yesterday’s police action,” she claimed.

Those booked included Devinder Sandhu of Muktsar, state president of the union, Goga Rani of Abohar, Mandeep Singh and Madan Kumar of Fazilka, Harpreet Kaur of Jalandhar and Lakhvir Singh of Moga. The teachers said they had given a call of statewide protests today.