The case of the teacher-in-charge padlocking classrooms for the past several days got a new twist when a team of officials, including the District Inspector (DI) of Schools, recovered a gun in the office as they broke open the locks to resume normal classes at the South Dinajpur school on Friday.
While the police said it was a ‘toy,’ local people said it was a real ‘metal gun’ recovered from the locked almirah in the Chak Kashi Shyamsundar High School under the Balurghat police station.
The police have seized the ‘gun,’ while Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dhiman Mitra, claimed it was a mere ‘toy pistol.’
It may be recalled here that classes in school are being held either in the open or in the passageway of the school after the TIC, Sanjay Mandal, locked the school on 22 January, following a conflict between him and the head-teacher appointed by the School Service Commission. While the head-teacher, Sukhendu Chakrabarty, retired on 30 January this year, Rita Das has taken charge.
On Friday, DI Mrinal Kanti Singha Roy sought the help of the police and went to the school and broke open all the classrooms and the office.
Students, meanwhile, were happy to go back into their classrooms after almost one-and-a-half months.
“We are happy that the school will continue in a normal manner now. However, the recovery of the pistol from the office must be investigated by the police,” said Sunil Barman, the father of one of the students.
“A gun has been recovered from the locked almirah of the school, as we opened all the classrooms and the office. We hope normal classes will resume from tomorrow. I have instructed the teachers to normalise the situation from today itself,” the DI said on Friday.
DSP (Headquarters), Mr Mitra, said, “One toy pistol made of metal has been recovered from the office of the school at Chak Kashi village.”