School principal in Prayagraj ‘assaulted, forced out of office’, probe on

The college made headlines recently after the alleged paper leak of the Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (Preliminary) Examination 2024. It was alleged that the question paper was leaked from the college, and police had arrested one person who was responsible for the exam at the centre, along with others, in April this year.

According to the police, the complainant alleged that on July 2, while she was working in her office, she heard some noise at the gate. She spotted the accused on CCTV and locked her room from the inside. Following her instructions, the college peon locked the door from the outside. The complainant alleged that the accused broke the lock and the glass door, entered her office and misbehaved with, assaulted and verbally abused her. They also forcibly took her cellphone, she told the police.

On the basis of her complaint, an FIR was registered against nine named and several unidentified persons at the police station concerned. The case was filed under BNS section 121 (Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 324 (4) (Whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage to the amount of twenty thousand rupees and more but less than one lakh rupees), 333 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 351 (2) (Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation), 309 (4) (robbery) and BSA section 74 (Public and private documents), 76 (Proof of documents by production of certified copies).

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Prayagraj, Rajeev Kumar Yadav, said they are scrutinising the CCTV footage. In a video of the purported incident, the principal is seen as a group of people forcibly enter her room, demanding that she immediately vacate her chair. The principal resisted her removal, but she was eventually pulled out of her chair and her phone was taken away during a heated argument. At one point, a person can be seen telling the woman, “You are not the principal.”

The newly appointed principal is then asked to sit in the chair, prompting applause from those present.