The three-day long pen down strike called by Siksha Karmachari Samanway Samiti of Gumla was postponed on Tuesday after a meeting was held between the top officials of the district administration and teachers’ representatives of Gumla. The teachers have been protesting for the last five days against the abduction and murder of two government school teachers in Gumla on August 10.
“We have decided to postpone the strike as most of our demands related to recent killing of sibling teachers have been fulfilled by the district administration,” said president of Siksha Karmachari Samanway Samiti Sundaram Bhjaradwaj. The DC has assured that decision on the compensation and other benefits on being killed in Naxal incident will be taken soon within three days, added Bharadwaj.
According to Bharadwaj, the decision was taken by the teachers’ union as they did not want to hamper Independence Day celebrations in the schools across the district as it is question of national prestige for them. “If our demands are not fulfilled till August 16, we
will again go on strike,” Bharadwaj added.
Teachers working in all the 1536 primary and secondary schools in Gumla had gone on strike demanding immediate arrest of those involved in the killing of sibling teachers Prakash Toppo and Saroj Toppo allegedly by the CPI (Maoists).
“Since August 10, the day bodies of the deceases have been found; teachers of all primary and secondary schools in the district were on strike,” Bharadwaj added.
Gumla DC Veena Srivastava also asserted that the demands of the teachers are genuine on which decision will be taken soon.
“The genuine demands of compensation and job against the death of a government employee will be considered by the district administration soon,” said the DC. She further added that the teachers’ association, however, has been told that the decision on compensation will be taken only after the report of Superintendent of Police, as taken in the case of Naxal incident.
A demand of compensation amounting to Rs 10 lakh along with a government jobs to the next of the kin of each deceased is also being made by the Siksha Karmachari Samanway Samiti of Gumla.
Prakash Toppo, a teacher with the Ghaghra Bansari Middle School, was abducted by unidentified persons near Toto village while he was returning home from the school on his bike on August 6. Consequently, the abductors made a phone call to his family members demanding ransom of four lakh rupees. His sister, Saroj Toppo, who also happened to be a teacher, went with the ransom amount to get his brother back but was also abducted and killed later on.
The bodies of the siblings however, were recovered from Barangpat jungle under Ghaghra police station on August 10.
These teachers on strike under the banner of Shiksha Karamchari Samanway Samiti also demanded to end the transfer and postings of teachers and not requisitioning report on building construction and mid day meal scheme by senior officers.
Investigations by the police indicate that the two teachers who were abducted and shot dead by the Maoists in Gumla on Saturday were rolling in money.
Aware of the fact that the teachers turned contractors had made money illegally, the Maoists started extracting ransom money from them. The sources revealed that the two deceased teachers were also asked to pay levy to the Maoists. Since they declined to pay the extortion money, they were reportedly abducted and shot dead.