SFI supporters stage a protest on Monday. (Express photo)
State education minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday alleged that the violence in north Dinajpur district in which two students were killed was not the handiwork of school children but “done by outsiders in an organised manner”.
The minister made the comment after chairing a meeting with District Inspector (DI) of schools. He also asserted that the government would probe everything related to Thursday’s violence at the Darivit High School at Islampur.
“The way the furniture inside the school building was damaged on that day, it can’t be the handiwork of school children. This must have been done by outsiders in an organised manner. However, we want normalcy to be restored. We will get everything related to the incident probed and take strict action accordingly. No one will be spared,” Chatterjee said.
Asked to comment on what transpired in the meeting, Chatterjee said that every district inspector of schools should immediately inform the concerned District Magistrate (DM) and Commissioner of School Education about any emergent situation in any school under the DI’s jurisdiction from now on. The DIs have also been asked to mandatorily inform the DM and Education Officer about any managing committee recommendations regarding recruitment of teachers.
“We have also asked the DIs to visit every school in his/her jurisdiction by October 5 and see the infrastructure, number of teacher-students etc,” he said.
Chatterjee further said that they have also been instructed not to make any decision if any appointment was made for the secondary section in a school and to convert that appointment for the higher secondary section of the same institution which has no legal sanctity.
Tapas Barman, a 3rd year college student, and Rajesh Sarkar, an ITI student, were killed in the violence which broke out on September 20 at Darivit High School in Islampur of North Dinajpur district. The BJP has called a 12-hour strike in the state over the issue on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, North Dinajpur BJP president Shankar Chakraborty, who was arrested on Sunday, hours after he addressed a public meeting in the violence-hit Daribhit area, where he called on people to “retaliate” against the police and “tie them to trees”, was remanded in jail custody for one day. He was produced in a court in North Dinajpur district which sent him to jail custody.