Alleged stripping of girls in Punjab school; CM orders probe

Amid reports of alleged stripping of girls after the discovery of a sanitary pad in a toilet, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered transfer of two teachers of a Fazilka government school pending an inquiry.

Fazilka town is around 325 km from Chandigarh.

The Chief Minister also directed Secretary-Education Krishan Kumar to complete the investigation into the incident by Monday and take further action.

The incident was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister after a video
showed girl students of Government Girls School in Kundal village of Fazilka
district crying and complaining that they had been stripped by the teachers within the school compound.

“The teachers were reportedly trying to find out which of the girls was wearing a sanitary pad, after one was found in the school toilet,” a spokesperson for the chief minister’s office said.

Instead of educating the girls about proper disposal of the pads, the teachers decided to strip them, the Chief Minister was informed, prompting him to issue orders for immediate action, the spokesperson added.

“The District Education Officer was asked to visit the school and, on questioning the students and their parents, found prima facie evidence of the involvement of two teachers. Based on this, the Chief Minister asked the Education Secretary to immediately issue orders transferring the teachers out of the school on administrative grounds,” the spokesperson added.

He said that further disciplinary action, as per conduct rules, will be taken once the formal report is received after recording the statement of the students.