Teachers and staff who were fired due to a Supreme Court decision faced police violence during a protest in Kolkata. The court found the recruitment process of the Bengal government was flawed, leading to the firing of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff.
On Wednesday, the protesters, including both teachers and staff, tried to enter the office of the district inspector (DI) of schools in Kasba. They were demanding that the jobs of those not “tainted” by the recruitment process be protected. However, things escalated quickly. Visuals from the protest showed police officers kicking and beating the protesters with batons after they tried to break into the DI office.
Despite voices criticizing the police’s actions, Kolkata’s police commissioner, Manoj Verma, admitted that the situation was “not desirable.” He added that the police were first attacked by the protesters, and that the authorities would review all the footage from the incident to understand what happened. He also mentioned that six police officers were injured, with one seriously hurt.
One of the key protesters, Dhitesh Mandal, denied that they attacked the police. He expressed disappointment that after being promised support by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, the government’s response was violence. Mandal, speaking on behalf of the Deserving Teachers’ Rights Forum, said, “We went to the DI office with just our bags and pens. How could we have attacked the police?”
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The controversy began on April 3, when the Supreme Court canceled the appointments of 25,773 teaching and non-teaching staff due to the flawed recruitment process. While Mamata Banerjee assured on Monday that the government would try to protect the jobs of those who weren’t involved in the irregularities, no official list of these people has been released yet.
On Wednesday, the teachers had planned a protest to lock up all district school inspector offices. But things took a violent turn when they tried to enter the DI office in Kasba. Police say they had to use “mild force” because the protesters became violent and attacked officers. The protesters, however, argue that the police used unnecessary force, and many believe the police were trying to stop them from voicing their concerns.
The police have now urged the fired teachers to inform them about any future protests so they can plan accordingly. Chief Secretary Manoj Pant also defended the police’s actions, saying they were necessary because public property was being damaged and police were attacked.
After the confrontation, many of the protesters took to the Rashbehari Connector and blocked traffic. The protesters later cleared the road and announced they would return to Shahid Minar the next day for another protest.
Meanwhile, several BJP MLAs protested against the police action and were arrested after blocking the entrance to the Kolkata Police headquarters.
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This incident has sparked a lot of anger and concern among the fired teachers, with many feeling that their struggle for justice is being met with violence instead of support.
