UP: Teachers up in Arms Against Police After Colleague’s Death, Boycott Board Exam Evaluation

Lucknow: Teachers in Uttar Pradesh have initiated a boycott of the assessment process for Class 10 examinations, potentially causing delays in the academic calendar. The move, led by the State Teachers’ Organisation, comes in reaction to the death of a teacher who was fatally shot by a head constable in Muzaffarnagar. 

Boycotting the evaluation process, teachers have been demanding security arrangements at every board exam centre.

Santosh Singh, a teacher who is on duty in Muzaffarnagar, said teachers of the entire state are in panic due to the tragic incident. "Police are deployed to protect teachers. If police carry out such incidents, how will teachers work? The Lok Sabha elections are due and the voting process is carried out through teachers. How we will work?"

After the protest, a memorandum was handed over to administrative officials in several districts including Sonbhadra, Prayagraj, Lucknow and Gorakhpur seeking the arrest of the police constable.

The protesting teachers have also demanded compensation of Rs 10 crore to the kin of the deceased teacher as well as booking of the accused under the National Security Act (NSA). The other demands include that the last rites should be performed with state honour and in future, teachers should not be sent on duty in trucks or containers. 

The agitating teachers said they would end their protest only when the state government gave them a written assurance on their demands. 

The Incident

A teacher was shot dead on Sunday night allegedly by a police head constable in the Civil Lines area in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar. The constable was allegedly "drunk" and fired after an argument broke out between them over tobacco, police said on Monday.

The deceased, Dharmendra Kumar, was part of a team of the education department from Varanasi that had brought Uttar Pradesh Board Examination copies to the local SD Inter College.

Satyanarain Prajapati, Superintendent of Police (City), told reporters that two teachers and two class four employees, who were carrying the papers, were accompanied by a police team from Varanasi. They were waiting in a vehicle for the college gate to open when the incident took place, he added.

"The constable was under the influence of alcohol and was constantly demanding tobacco from the teacher. However, when the teacher did not give tobacco, an argument broke out between them and the policeman opened fire at him using his service weapon," Prajapati said.

Dharmendra Kumar had a confrontation with head constable Chander Prakash while they were in the vehicle. Prakash shot at Kumar using his service weapon, the officer said.

The injured teacher was rushed to the district hospital where he was declared dead, he added.