Teacher suspended, booked for refusing to sing Vande Mataram

An assistant teacher at a government school in Shahpur Kutub locality in Aligarh district was suspended after he allegedly refused to sing Vande Mataram and confronted another teacher over the issue. The suspended teacher, Shamsul Hasan, has been booked under sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 292 (public nuisance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Roravar police station in Aligarh following a complaint by assistant teacher, Chandrapal Singh.

“We received a petition against assistant teacher Shamsul Hasan for allegedly objecting to the singing of Vande Mataram and the chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai by students during morning assembly. In the petition, it is alleged that the accused was involved in a verbal confrontation with another assistant teacher, Chandra Pal Singh, over the singing of Vande Mataram; a complaint has been registered against the teacher under the relevant sections,” said Mayank Pathak, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).

The U.P. Basic Education Department said the teacher has been suspended, and a departmental investigation has been initiated based on the testimony of five teachers at the school. “The faculty member has been suspended and a probe ordered into the incident. Our team has visited the school to investigate,” said an official.