Officials in Amroha district, Uttar Pradesh, are investigating allegations against a private school principal who reportedly assaulted a Muslim student. The principal allegedly confined the student to a room and expelled him for bringing a non-vegetarian tiffin to school.
The Amroha police revealed that the district inspector of schools has formed a three-member team to investigate the claims and a widely circulated video.
The video appears to show the principal, Avneesh Sharma, telling the student’s mother that he had removed the child’s name from the school rolls. While the audio is unclear, Sharma is reported to have said, “We cannot teach children in our school who destroy our temples.”
Sharma is also quoted as saying, “Your child says he wants to convert everyone to Islam by making them eat non-vegetarian food.” The child’s mother disputes these claims, emphasizing that her son is only seven years old and learns such things at home.
According to Times of India, the student, a Class 3 pupil, had brought biryani in his tiffin. Sudhir Kumar, the sub-divisional magistrate, has directed the Basic Shiksha Adhikari and the district inspector of schools to investigate the situation.
Rajya Sabha MP Syed Nasir Hussain has condemned the incident. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to address a similar issue in Muzaffarnagar, where a teacher allegedly instructed students to slap a Muslim boy. The Hindu has also reported on a trend in New Delhi schools enforcing a “vegetarian” tiffin policy driven by Hindutva ideologies.
