Row over bringing biryani in tiffin: Probe panel gives clean chit to school principal, pulls up for ‘language’

A controversy broke out last week after a purported video of a conversation between the principal and the student’s mother went viral, leading to protests by Muslim Committee members in the district. The mother had alleged that the principal hit her son, confined him to a solitary room for three hours as punishment, and called him a “terrorist”.

Following the uproar, a three-member committee comprising Snehlata Kumari, the principal of the Government Girls Inter College Amroha; Lalit Kumar, the principal of the Government Inter College Amroha; and Dharam Singh, the principal of the Government High School, Bachhraon, was formed. On Monday, the committee submitted its report to Rajesh Tyagi, District Magistrate.

“The committee has put the principal in the dock for the kind of language he allegedly used during the conversion with the mother…in the purported video leaked on social media platforms on September 5. Though the video was doctored, the committee found that the principal should have avoided such harsh language while talking to a guardian at his office,” V P Singh, District Inspector Of Schools, Amroha, said.

The committee also said that the student was not expelled from the school, Singh told The Indian Express on the phone on Tuesday morning. He added that the education department has sought an explanation from the school management on the issue but is yet to get a reply.

According to sources, as part of its three-day probe, the committee members spoke to 22 guardians of students, went through the CCTV footage of the day, and examined the school register. “They also spoke to the parents of the student before arriving at the conclusion that neither was he expelled from school nor was he beaten up or confined to a solitary room,” a source said.

Snehlata, a member of the probe team, said that they spoke to the mothers of other Class 3 students who claimed that the boy had been “acting weirdly for the last two months”.

“The student was not expelled but his mother said she would get him admitted to another school. They have not paid the school fees since April and I asked them to clear dues worth Rs 50,000 following which she created a drama and made the video of our conversation,” the school principal told The Indian Express.

“Bringing non-vegetarian food in the tiffin is prohibited in the school’s code of conduct but the student had done this thrice recently despite being warned. He had biryani in his tiffin on August 31 and was offering the same to his classmates. This was objected to by parents of other students,” the principal clarified.

The boy’s mother, however, said the principal had said he had expelled her son. “The principal said he was a terrorist and there is no place for students who force others to share non-veg food and damage the temple within the school campus…My son is yet to recover from the shock,” the boy’s mother told The Indian Express over the phone.

According to the principal, the mother only leaked a select portion of the video. “Our conversation was very respectful till I mentioned paying the school dues. She became violent after I mentioned the pending money,” the principal said. “Never before have such things occurred in our school, which has a reputation for being the best in the region for the last decade,” the principal added.

The issue had also taken on communal overtones with SP leaders meeting the mother, assuring justice, and members of several Hindu outfits joining hands to ensure that the principal was not unjustly penalised.