JAIPUR: A private school teacher in Rajasthan was sacked and a case registered against her after she posted a celebratory Whatsapp status following Pakistan’s victory over India in the T-20 World Cup cricket match. After her termination, the female teacher said she was ‘joking’.
Nafisa Attari, a teacher at Neerja Modi School in Udaipur, uploaded on her WhatsApp a screenshot of Pakistan’s victory moment with the caption, “Jeeeet gayeeee… We wonnn”.
One of the parents who saw her WhatsApp status reportedly questioned Nafisa on supporting Pakistan, to which the latter replied in the affirmative.
As the screenshots of her WhatsApp status went viral on social media, the school management terminated the teacher.
“Yes, we have taken a decision to terminate the teacher,” said school chairman Mahendra Sojatia after a meeting of the Sojatia Charitable Trust, which runs the school.
The issue gained a political colour, with local political and social organisations condemning the teacher’s act.
Some ABVP workers reached the school premises on Tuesday and hoisted the Tricolor.
Two social organisations lodged a complaint against Nafisa at Surajpol and Sukher police stations and she was booked under IPC Section 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot).
In a video later, shared by a local news media, the teacher apologised and said she was not a Pakistan supporter.
The WhatsApp status was in regard to a friendly bet within her family, she claimed.
“Someone messaged me and asked whether ‘you support Pakistan’. As the message had emojis and it was an environment of fun, I replied ‘yes’. But, it doesn’t mean that I support Pakistan. I am an Indian and I love India as much as everyone else does…I realised my mistake later and immediately deleted the status,” she explained.