Salary withheld for 6 months, village headmaster commits suicide on retirement day 

In the suicide note, Pateriya named five persons, including gram pradhan and mid-day meal coordinator, who, he claimed, were demanding bribe blatantly and were mainly responsible for harassment
The authorities rushed to the classroom and broke the door open finding Pateriya more than half burnt
The authorities rushed to the classroom and broke the door open finding Pateriya more than half burnt

All the tall claims of state government over corruption stood exposed when in a horrific incident of suicide, a school headmaster immolated self in a classroom of a primary school in Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region on Saturday evening. He left behind a detailed suicide note on the blackboard. Ironically, Saturday was his day in office as he was retiring on March 31.

As per the sources, Om Prakash Pateriya was working as a headmaster in a primary school situated in Samkhaira falling under Bhyaw Gram Sabha in Talbeth. On Saturday, Pateriya worked till late evening in the school to complete his papers of superannuation. He was mainly disturbed as his salary had been withheld and he had not been getting even a single penny for the last six months.  His woes had aggravated further as he was denied the ‘No Dues Certificate’ required to get his retirement papers cleared. All these factors pushed the headmaster to the brink. Credit: the gram sabha officials who all had allegedly ganged up and were seeking bribe for clearing his papers and dues.

In the suicide note, Pateriya named five persons, including gram pradhan Mohan Singh and mid-day meal coordinator Kapil Dubey, who, he claimed, were demanding bribe blatantly and were mainly responsible for his constant harassment. The victim has also alleged that student monitoring committee chief Sohan Singh was also demanding money for signing the no dues certificate.

The headmaster, who basically belonged to a place called Koch near Jhansi, was living in Samkhaira all alone in a rented accommodation. On Saturday evening, a mason who was working on the school premises suddenly saw smoke coming out of a classroom and alerted the authorities. It was found that Pateriya had immolated self by dousing himself with kerosene inside the classroom but only after scribbling a detailed suicide note on the blackboard.

The authorities rushed to the classroom and broke the door open finding Pateriya more than half burnt. He was immediately rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) from where he was referred to Jhansi Medical College where he succumbed during the course of medication.

An FIR against Mohan Singh, Kapil Dubey, Sohan Singh, Bunti Raja and Rupesh Kumar Niranjan, all named in the suicide note, was lodged under IPC Sections 306, 504, 500, 34 and Section 7/13A of Prevention of Corruption Act, at Talbeth police station on Sunday.

As per Lalitpur DM Manvendra Singh, the Gram Pradhan was arrested while the contract of mid-day meal coordinator Kapil Dubey was suspended. “We have taken a strong note of the issue and those found guilty will not be spared, ”said the DM. On the other hand CO Talbeth, Arun Singh informed that rest of the four accused were absconding and the intense hunt was on to nab them.

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