"While all the other students were dismissed for the day, my son did not return. When he finally arrived, I asked him what happened, he started crying and said that the teacher had confined him to one room for the whole day. He was not permitted to attend classes, was punished and also filmed," said Sabra, mother of a seven-year-old boy who is now viral for allegedly being 'expelled' from his school in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha for getting non-vegetarian biryani in his tiffin.
On 3 September, a video of Sabra having an altercation with Avnish Sharma, the principal of her son's school, went viral on social media.
In the clip, Sharma can be heard making several allegations against the seven-year-old student in question.
"Your son claims that he will convert everyone into a Muslim by feeding them non-veg food."
In the same video, Sabra can be heard saying: "For the past three months, my son has been complaining that other students keep saying 'Hindu-Muslim', 'Hindu-Muslim'."
Amid a slew of claims, counter-claims, and narratives, The Quint spoke to both Sabra and school principal Sharma seen in the viral video, and also accessed another video recorded of the principal along with the student in question being reprimanded by him in the classroom. Here's what we know:
'Punished, Not Permitted to Attend Classes': What the Mother Claims
Speaking to The Quint, Sabra claimed that on 2 September, she received a call to come to the school but neither the teacher who had called her nor the principal spoke to her when she went.
After the school was over, her son told her what all had transpired through the day, she said.
"He said that in the video they made of him, the principal forced him to say that he wanted to bomb the school. But my son has not said any such thing," she claimed.
Sabra said that she went to the school again to meet the principal the next day on 3 September.
She alleged that when she tried to talk to him, he refused saying, "I do not speak to women."
Recalling events of the day, Sabra said: "We tried speaking to the principal when he arrived, but he just went inside his office. I then went inside and asked why he had called me to the school at 11:00 am and if he wanted to discuss something so crucial, why was he now refusing to talk."
Sabra then started filming Sharma in which he can be heard making several allegations against the student and her.
In the video, he can be heard saying that her son has confessed to saying that he will 'bomb the school' and 'all temples should be destroyed.'
"We will not teach your son. We have expelled him. Please take him home. Why are you insisting on keeping him here? Zabardasti hai kya aapki jo padha lenge yahan? (You cannot compel us to keep him here)."
"We cannot accept a student who exhibits such values, which includes disregard towards temples and talks on Hindu-Muslim lines. Where is he learning all this? The student has admitted to bringing non-veg food to the school multiple times despite being asked not to," he can be heard saying in the video.
Sabra, a nursing student herself, denied the allegations that she provided non-vegetarian food in her son's lunchbox.
"It is our responsibility to prepare our son's lunch. We have never given him non-veg food before, and we only prepared biryani with soya chunks at his specific request," she told The Quint.
She further claimed that neither the principal nor the teachers examined the lunchbox and that they are unnecessarily escalating the matter based on the unsubstantiated claims of other students. She emphasised that no investigation has been conducted and that there is no evidence to support the allegation that her son's lunchbox contained non-veg food.
What Happened a Day Before the Viral Video
In another clip from 2 September, accessed by The Quint, shows Sharma standing in a classroom with the 7-year-old student, questioning other students about him.
In the six-minute long video, Sharma can be seen addressing other students and the teacher in the classroom. He can be heard saying: "Is he disciplined or indisciplined in the classroom?," to which all the students respond, 'indisciplined.'
In the video, other students accuse him of 'talking about breaking the Ram temple' and 'blowing up the school with a bomb.' The students also accuse him of saying that 'I will convert all students by feeding them non-vegetarian food.' While, he tries to explain himself crying, Sharma scolds him.
The teacher who was present in the class alleges that the child's reactions regarding the Ram temple are inappropriate.
In the latter half of the video, shot in a corridor outside the video, Sharma is then seen interrogating the child.
'Complaint About the Student Came from Other Parents': What the Principal Claims
Speaking to The Quint, principal Sharma claimed that several parents had complained about Sabra's son before he took any action.
"On Saturday during PTM (patents-teachers' meeting), 10-12 parents came to me with a complaint about that student. On Monday, I visited the classroom and confirmed the incident. All students present, including Muslim students, corroborated this," Sharma claimed, while speaking to The Quint.
He said that the police have recorded the statements of the parents as well in this case.
The Quint asked Sharma if he stood by his comments in the video, he admitted that he had made those remarks in a "fit of rage."
"When the student's mother arrived at the reception, she stated, 'My son will continue to bring non-vegetarian food, and the school can try to stop us if it can.' This provoked a strong reaction from us, and we went to our office. In response, I told her that under such circumstances, she should consider having her son educated elsewhere. We would not be able to accommodate such behavior," he said.
He further claimed that the student has not been expelled yet. A decision will be made at the upcoming parents-teachers' meeting, and subsequent action will be taken accordingly," he added.
Sharma further denied allegations of the child being confined to a room.
"Her claims are entirely false. This is a blatant lie. There are security cameras installed here, and the student was neither physically assaulted nor struck," he said.
He further claimed the place where the child was sent wasn't a separate room but the computer lab.
"How could anyone be locked in a room when we have CCTV footage? We have all the CCTV footage, that shows the truth? If there were no cameras, her claims could be believed. Every aspect of this situation has been thoroughly investigated, and all statements have been recorded," he said.
Committee Formed to Probe the Matter
Sabra said that she has written to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state's education minister, District Magistrate, and Superintendent of Police regarding the matter.
In a written complaint addressed to the Superintendent of Police, she has accused the class teacher of physical abuse and forceful confinement. She also alleged that the teacher tortured her son and recorded a video of the incident.
The Amroha District School Inspector has appointed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.
Representatives of the Muslim community, meanwhile, submitted a letter to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate addressing Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The committee has demanded that the school's recognition be revoked, and legal action and "impartial investigation" be conducted into the matter.
(Translated from Hindi by Aditiya)
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