Mangaluru: Gerosa School teacher suspended over alleged derogatory remarks on Hindu Gods
Mangaluru: Sister Prabha, a teacher at Gerosa School in Mangaluru, has been suspended by the school board following allegations of making derogatory remarks about Hindu gods during a classroom session. The school's management board took this decision in response to public outrage, and the Education Department is set to conduct an internal investigation into the incident.
The controversy began on February 8 when a complaint was lodged at the Mangaluru South Police Station, accusing Sister Prabha of insulting the Ayodhya Sri Ram Mandir and Lord Rama while teaching the subject 'Work is Worship' at Prabha School.
DK Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan visited the school on Monday evening to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Education officers and police officials were present during the investigation.
Amid growing tensions, MLA Vedavyasa Kamath from the South Constituency of Mangaluru visited the school on Monday, demanding appropriate legal action against the teacher. Under his leadership, hundreds of parents and activists attempted to lay siege to the school. However, the police intervened, preventing MLA Kamath and parents from approaching the school gate.
ALSO READ: Nejaru murder case: Chargesheet filed in murder of air hostess and her family
In response to the incident, the headmistress of the school issued a statement, announcing Sister Prabha's suspension and assuring parents that another teacher would be appointed in her place. The headmistress emphasized the school's commitment to constitutional principles, religious tolerance, and equal respect for all beliefs. She acknowledged the temporary mistrust created by the incident and called for cooperation to rebuild trust for the better future of the students.
The decision to suspend Sister Prabha has been made to ensure transparency in the ongoing investigation by district authorities. The school expects cooperation from parents and stakeholders throughout the inquiry process, she added.
St. Gerosa School, with a history of 60 years, has not witnessed such an incident before, and the administration is keen on maintaining a positive educational environment. She added while appealing parents for collective efforts to work towards the students' brighter future.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Malian defence minister killed in attack that saw jihadis and rebels seize towns, military bases
Dakar (AP): Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media.
Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State group-aligned militants have been fighting the government for over a decade.
Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal after the attacks, the rebels said Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a separatist group, said the Russian Africa Corps troops and the Malian military withdrew from the city after an agreement was reached for their peaceful exit.
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier statement said they were “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
It was the first time the separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northern Mali.
“This operation is being carried out in partnership with the JNIM, which is also committed to defending the people against the military regime in Bamako,” Ramadan said.
Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank, said that the coordination between the two groups, as well as the explicit call for the Russian military to leave, is new.
“The coordination, conducting attacks all over the country at the same time, real coordination on the military level but also on the political level because both claims of both groups they acknowledged that they worked together, this is a first,” said Nasr.
Mali government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the attacks and called on “all states, security forces, regional mechanisms and populations of West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat this scourge.”
The separatists called on Russia to “reconsider its support for the military junta in Bamako, whose actions have contributed to the suffering of the civilian population.”
Following military coups, the juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako's airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said that while the attacks were a major blow to the credibility of Mali's Russian partners, JNIM is unlikely to take control of Bamako in the near term due to opposition from the local population.
“The attacks are a major blow to Russia as the mercenaries had no intelligence about the attacks and were unable to protect major cities. They have unnecessarily worsened the conflict by not distinguishing between civilians and combatants,” Laessing said.
