UP school teachers suspended after Bajrang Dal protest over framed Quranic verse
Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh): Members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad forcibly entered a government primary school in Nagla Purva village of Sambhal district and objected to a framed Quranic verse displayed above the gate of a classroom . Their objection led to the suspension of two teachers pending an inquiry.
The activists alleged that assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim was giving Islamic lessons to students. Nazim denied the charges. The school staff and local residents also denied the allegation, as reported by The Observer Post. Videos of the incident surfaced on social media, showing protestors entering the school premises, questioning teachers, and inspecting classrooms, blackboards, and books.
The video also showed the protestors asking children whether namaz was being conducted in school? The students denied any such activity in the school.
Nazim was quoted by The Observer Post as saying that he had strictly followed the prescribed government syllabus and had never taught any religious content to students. He described the allegations as false and politically motivated. The claims of the removal of the posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Goddess Saraswati, made by the protestors were also denied by the school staff.
Following a written complaint to the police, the framed verse was removed from the school, while Basic Shiksha Adhikari Alka Sharma ordered the suspension of headmistress Pushpa Jatav and assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim. Sharma said the suspensions were precautionary and noted that it would remain in effect while a departmental inquiry was conducted.
Local education activists and residents have criticized the action. They questioned the decision to suspend the teachers before the investigation was concluded. Some argue that the suspension was motivated by street protests rather than proven facts.
Sambhal's Muslim community has also expressed their concerns about what they called selective scrutiny. They also questioned why similar issues were not raised about other religious symbols commonly present in public places.
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Kerala woman on trek at Tadiandamol hills goes missing, search operations on
Bengaluru (PTI): A 36-year-old woman, who went trekking at Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu district, has gone missing inside the forest. Additional personnel and drone cameras have been deployed to search for her, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern about the young woman's disappearance, instructed that search operations be intensified.
G S Sharanya had come alone from Kerala for the trek and stayed at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had gone to the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu with a guide and 15 other trekkers on April 2. She went missing that afternoon. As soon as the matter was known, five teams of 50 people, including police, the anti-Naxal squad, a dog squad and forest personnel were formed, and are conducting searches, the minister's office said in a statement.
According to Khandre, CM Siddaramaiah expressed concern about the disappearance of the young woman who went on a trek and instructed that additional personnel be deployed for the search.
"Four additional teams of 40 personnel have been deployed today. A total of 9 teams are conducting the search operation. Honest efforts continue to find the missing young woman," he said.
Further noting that, as per reports, the young woman last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, stating she had lost her way, the minister said, "Search is being conducted based on her phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been obtained with an additional team deployed starting today."
