Thane (PTI): A woman sarpanch of a group panchayat and her family in Navi Mumbai allegedly tried to commit suicide, following which several villagers wrongfully restrained two government officers in protest, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Tuesday and the Panvel Taluka police have registered a case against 16 persons from Chikle village in Navi Mumbai, they said.

On July 26, the sarpanch of the group grampanchayat in Chikle, Deepali Tandel, submitted a letter to local authorities expressing grievance over alleged inaction in a land-related matter.

In her letter, she warned that if no action was taken, she and her family would lock themselves at home and consume poison, the police said.

Taking cognisance of the letter, the gram panchayat's rural development officer along with the block development officer went to the sarpanch's residence on Tuesday to pacify her, a police official said.

"On reaching the house, they found it locked from within. Suspecting a suicide attempt, they broke open the door and pulled out the sarpanch and her family members, who had allegedly consumed poison, and immediately arranged for them to be shifted to a hospital," the official said. 

While the family was rushed for medical treatment, some villagers targeted the two officers who had intervened on their way back, he said,

The villagers formed an unlawful assembly, waylaid the jeep of the officers and squatted in front of the vehicle, restraining them for nearly an hour. The protesters demanded action on the sarpanch's complaint, the police said.

Following a complaint by the rural development officer, a case was registered against the protesters under sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.