Nashik: Asaram’s ‘followers’ give lecture in civic school

NASHIK: The principal and two teachers of a civic school in Satpur have been slapped with a show-cause notice for allowing a group of people claiming to be followers of self-styled godman Asaram to deliver a lecture to students on the school premises on Wednesday.
The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) also directed the principal to lodge a police complaint against the people. Asaram is serving a life sentence for a minor’s rape.
“We have taken serious cognizance of this as permission of the education department is mandatory for organising programmes in civic schools. I myself visited the school in this connection on Thursday morning,” said Devidas Mahajan, education officer of NMC on Thursday.
“A directive has been issued to the principal to lodge FIR against those who addressed the students on the thoughts of the self-styled godman in the school,” he said.
“Moreover, action will also to be taken against the principal for allowing them to address students.”
According to sources in the NMC, the followers of Asaram went to the said school on Wednesday afternoon and delivered a lecture to students on his thoughts. They also told the students not to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and instead celebrate the day as “Parents’ day” and worship them.
The followers also distributed pamphlets about Asaram’s thoughts among students while also putting up a banner displaying a photograph of the disgraced and jailed ‘guru’.
Soon after learning about the incident, a number of corporators complained to the civic administration and demanded action against the school principal as well as the visitors.
The NMC has 90 schools with over 30,000 students across all its six divisions —Panchavati, Nashik Road, Satpur, Nashik East, Nashik West and Cidco.