School headmaster dies by suicide in Bengal, TMC leader held for demanding Rs 35 lakh from him

Haque is chairman of the management committee of Raninagar Sheikhpara Babultali Khalilur Rahman High School in Domkal, where Ray was the headmaster.

In a complaint to the police, Ray’s wife, Poly Singha Ray, alleged that following Haque’s threats and demand, her husband could not bear the stress and took his own life.

“The TMC leader and his associates are trying to introduce corrupt practices in the school. My husband opposed that. They threatened him, saying that he would be framed for corruption in the mid-day meal scheme and demanded Rs 35 lakh from him. Following that, he struggled to carry on with the humiliation and died by suicide,” Poly said.

Haque denied the charges.

“I never threatened the headmaster. I am also a former student of the school, and he was my teacher. Why should I threaten him? These are all false allegations,” said Haque, before arrested by the police on Friday.

Ray died allegedly by suicide on Wednesday. Haque was arrested on Friday. Haque and three others have been booked for abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation, among others.

“Prima facie, we found the allegations against Haque true. We have arrested him. We are verifying whether others were also involved in the case,” a senior police officer of Murshidabad police district said.

Meanwhile, the Opposition parties hit out at the TMC, calling the death of the headmaster an “institutional murder”.

“The teacher could not tolerate the humiliation… It’s an institutional murder. What has Mamata Banerjee made this state? Thieves are roaming freely, and such honest teachers are dying by suicide. We will stand beside the family and give every possible legal help to them,” said CPI(M) state secretary Md Selim, who visited the headmaster’s residence and met his wife and relatives.