UP: Headmistress brandishes knife, cleaver in school; suspended

Kaushambi (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) A government primary school headmistress on Friday allegedly brandished a knife and a cleaver on school premises in Kaushambhi district, prompting her suspension after an inquiry, officials said. The incident was reported from the primary school in Lukiya Dorma village under Kada block, where acting headmistress Shikha Singh allegedly brought the sharp objects to the school. District Basic Siksha Adhikari (BSA) Kamlendra Kushwaha said that Block Education Officer Neeraj Umrao was directed to inquire into the matter after a video of the teacher holding the knife and a cleaver surfaced online. "The female teacher has been put under suspension, and an FIR has also been registered against her, " said the BSA. Umrao said he received information in the morning that the headmistress had come to school carrying a knife and a cleaver. He added that some parents also complained over the phone that she had allegedly brandished the weapons at them on the way to the school. He said statements of other school staff were recorded and a basic report was submitted to the BSA for further action. Police reached the school and took possession of the knife and the chopper, officials said. Further departmental inquiry is underway against the teacher. According to Umrao, the teacher's husband, who was called to the school, claimed that her mental health was not good. Speaking to reporters, Singh said she carried the sharp objects because she felt unsafe and wanted them for her personal security. She, however, declined to identify the person or persons from whom she claimed to face a threat. PTI COR CDN AMJ AMJ