In a protest against inaction in the case of alleged sexual harassment of young girls by a teacher, a district education officer (DEO) in Punjab's Ludhiana was garlanded with a shoe by members of the city-based Parents' Association on December 31, The Indian Express reported. He was also tricked into posing for the cameras with shoes around his neck by the parents.
Rajinder Ghai, President of the Parents' Association, reportedly said, “We put a shoe garland around the DEO’s neck because he has failed to take any concrete action against a teacher who has been sexually harassing girls at a government school. Despite complaints, the teacher has only been shifted to another school and no legal action has been initiated against him. We did not find any better way to make him realise his duties.”
Denying the allegation, DEO Lakhvir Singh, said, “The teacher has already been shifted to another school after an inquiry. We have also written to the head office to take action against him. However, teachers or anyone else cannot be suspended or dismissed on the orders of the parents’ association and as per their whims and fancies. Action is taken on the basis of inquiry, not according to what these association people say.”
Singh filed a police complaint, alleging that he was deceived by the members of the parents’ association as they entered his office on the pretext of wanting to honour him. The DEO said that they first made him wear garlands of flowers and when he posed for photos with them, they suddenly took out a shoe garland and put it around his neck. The DEO said that this was not even a "genuine" parents' association but "a group of people who try to blackmail officers".
Inspector Gurpreet Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of division number 5 police station, said that a complaint has been received from the education officer and it was being probed. “The officer has alleged that a group of parents, led by association head Rajinder Ghai, made him wear a garland of shoes deceivingly by saying that they want to honour him. We are probing the matter,” the SHO said.
