Two girls asked to disrobe by West Bengal teacher

Kolkata: A high school teacher in West Bengal was arrested on Saturday after she allegedly made a Grade 8 student take off her uniform to check if she was hiding Rs50 (Dh3.32) a classmate had accused her of stealing, police said.

“Rupali Dey, a teacher of Gopalnagar Giribala Uchcha Balika Vidyalaya, was arrested on Saturday morning. She has been booked for strip searching a class 8 student,” a police officer said.

The incident happened on Wednesday in Gopalnagar in North 24-Parganas district, some 75km from Kolkata.

The teacher allegedly strip searched the 13-year-old girl following an allegation that she was hiding Rs50. Following this, the girl’s parents lodged a police complaint on Friday.

In a similar incident, another Class 8 girl at Derokrishna Banitirtha Balika Vidyalaya in Haldia in East Midnapore was asked to disrobe and use her uniform to wipe the water she had spilled on the floor.

However, according to the girl, she had not spilled the water. She said her principal had ordered her to disrobe and had even beat her up.

The girl fell sick after coming home and her family members lodged a complaint with the school’s managing committee on Friday.

However, the principal denied the allegation.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Bratya Basu has ordered a probe into both incidents.

The incidents come barely a week after hostel warden Uma Poddar of Patha Bhavan in Visva-Bharati in Shantineketan allegedly made a Class 5 student lick her urine as a punishment for bed-wetting.

Poddar was arrested and later granted bail.