Bengal SSC scam: Protesting teachers clash with police, break open education dept headquarters gate
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal government teachers, who lost their jobs after a Supreme Court order over allegations of irregularities in their recruitment process, clashed with police during a protest on Thursday.
They even broke open the main gate of Bikash Bhavan, the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Kolkata's Salt Lake.
More than 1,000 sacked teachers, identified as “not tainted” and allowed to return to schools until December, have been staging a dharna outside Bikash Bhavan since Wednesday afternoon as part of the “Bikash Bhawan Abhijan” against the School Education Department and the School Service Commission (SSC).
They have been protesting over the filing of a review petition in the Supreme Court, allegedly without consulting them.
As the protest turned violent on Thursday, police resorted to lathicharge. Some of the protesters even received injuries in the scuffle.
A glimpse of the Bengal protesting teachers clashing with the police outside Bikash Bhavan on Thursday. Photo courtesy: Screengrab
A large contingent of police, along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, was deployed at the protest site. The tear gas vehicles were kept on standby.
The protesters said they will continue their protest and “will not allow any of the employees inside Bikash Bhawan to leave the building”.
Spokesperson of the protesting sacked teachers, Mehaboob Mondol, told the media: “They did not consult us or our lawyers before filing the review petition. Never before had anyone seen teachers breaking gates like this. But now our patience has run out. Surprisingly, an elected public representative (Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation chairman Sabyasachi Dutta) along with his supporters assaulted the protesting teachers with helmets."
"The Chief Minister has to intervene immediately as only she can resolve the matter. We are tired of speaking to the Education Minister. We will not allow any notification to be published.”
Meanwhile, Sabyasachi Dutta alleged being manhandled by the protesters.
“I had come for some official work. The state government is looking into their demands, but no one is above the court,” he told the mediapersons.
The protesters shouted slogans at him when he was being escorted to his car by the police and his bodyguards. Some even lay down in front of his vehicle.
A protester told a local TV channel: “They are protecting the thieves. We must be reinstated with dignity. What is wrong with our demands? The goons of political leaders are coming and beating us up.”
In a massive judgement, the Supreme Court had cancelled appointments of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), upholding the Calcutta High Court's order.
The state government had assured these teachers of legal support to fight their case.
Last month, the Supreme Court allowed teachers who have not been identified as "tainted" in the SSC scam to continue working till fresh appointments.
The top court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the fresh recruitment process will have to be initiated by May 31 with an advertisement and an affidavit in the court.
The deadline to complete the recruitment process has been set as December 31.
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