A strange scene played out at Panagarh Bazar Hindi High School in the Kanksa police station area of West Bardhaman district when a teacher found herself locked inside the school premises for close to an hour after classes had ended for the day. Teacher Krishna Verman had to call up neighbours and some students' parents for help before the gate's lock was finally opened and she was let out. As word of the incident spread, angry parents rushed to the school and staged a protest on the campus.
How the teacher ended up trapped inside
According to the information available, Krishna Verman teaches in the school's morning shift. She has alleged that once the morning session got over and she headed toward the gate to leave, she found the inner gate of the campus locked from outside. She called out to several members of the school staff and tried reaching them for help, but no one came to her aid. After being confined inside the premises alone for nearly an hour, she phoned people living nearby along with some parents of students and told them what had happened. As soon as they got the news, the parents rushed to the school. It was only after they created a commotion on reaching the spot that the gate's lock was finally opened and the teacher was brought out.
Teacher's allegations against the headmaster
Krishna Verman has held headmaster Jayant Kumar Panda responsible for the entire episode. She has alleged that he recently began enforcing strict rules around timing at the school, and that the gate is locked the moment the fixed time is reached, regardless of whether anyone is still inside. According to her, this strictness has caused trouble for teachers on more than one occasion in the past, but this time it escalated to the point where she was left locked inside the campus for an hour and had to seek help over the phone.
BJP workers show up, tension rises, police called in
As news of the incident spread, some local BJP workers and supporters also arrived at the school and raised slogans against the headmaster, further heightening tension on the campus. As the situation worsened, someone alerted the police, following which personnel from Kanksa police station reached the spot and brought things under control. A meeting was then held between the police, the parents and the school management, and the matter was resolved through discussion.
Headmaster denies the allegations
Headmaster Jayant Kumar Panda, for his part, has completely rejected the allegations levelled against him. He explained that three separate schools operate within the same campus, and that keeping the safety of the students, particularly the girls, in mind, the building's main gate is shut once the morning session ends so that no unauthorised person can enter. He said that instead of calling him directly to inform him of the situation, the teacher called in other people from outside, which is what allowed the misunderstanding to snowball into a bigger issue. He assured that the school would discuss the matter and put a proper, clear arrangement in place to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
