A tragic incident unfolded in the Muzaffarnagar’s Civil Lines area as a teacher lost his life due to a fatal shooting by a head constable of the Uttar Pradesh police during an altercation on Monday. This event sparked outrage among teachers from various colleges who staged a protest, obstructing the circular road. They demanded stringent action against the perpetrator and initiated a boycott of the evaluation process for Uttar Pradesh Board exam answer sheets, according to an official statement.
The deceased, identified as Dharmendra Kumar, was part of an education department team from Varanasi tasked with delivering Uttar Pradesh Board examination answer sheets to the local SD Inter college, according to Superintendent of Police (City) Satyanarain Parjapat.
Accompanied by another teacher and two support staff members, the team was joined by a police contingent from Varanasi, Parjapat mentioned. The incident occurred on Sunday night as the education department and Varanasi police teams waited in a vehicle for the college gate to open. Allegedly, an altercation broke out between Kumar and head constable Chander Prakash inside the vehicle, leading to the latter fatally shooting the teacher with his service weapon, the officer explained.
The wounded teacher was rushed to the district hospital where he was pronounced dead, the SP confirmed. Simultaneously, teachers from various colleges took to the streets, blocking the circular road to express their condemnation of the incident. According to them, the constable was inebriated, and the dispute arose when he demanded tobacco from the teacher, the statement mentioned.
In a memorandum addressed to the state government, the protesting teachers demanded compensation of at least Rs 10 crore for the deceased’s family, as well as employment for a family member. They vowed to continue their sit-in until strict action was taken against the perpetrator and sought written assurances from district authorities. Additionally, the teachers initiated a boycott of the evaluation process for UP board exam answer sheets in solidarity with the deceased teacher, as per the statement.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, and a case has been filed against the head constable. The other individuals present in the vehicle have been detained for questioning, the SP concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)