CHANDIGARH: Taking cognisance of the case of rape of a 12-year-old girl student in a government school in Ludhiana district, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema today suspended the school headmistress and two other teachers with immediate effect.
In an official statement issued here, Cheema termed the incident as "a serious crime" and suspended with immediate effect the headmistress Joginder Kaur and two other teachers Tarwinder Kaur and Yojna Sharma of Government High School in Sunet village of Ludhiana district.
"This kind of incident is a blot on the education system," he said, adding that school heads will be held directly responsible for such kind of anti-social activities.
The Minister said that maintaining discipline in the school premises "is sole responsibility of school head" and in case of any negligence in discipline "the erring would have to face the music."
Cheema also directed District Education Officer-Secondary Education to further investigate the matter and come out with a detailed report at the earliest.
A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a student of the school on Saturday, according to a complaint lodged by the girl's mother with the Ludhiana police, following which a case was filed and the accused was taken into custody.
The accused student had allegedly dragged the girl inside the washroom on the school campus and committed the crime during school hours. He had fled from the spot after the incident. The victim later narrated the incident to the teachers and her parents, police said.