LUCKNOW: With the recent incident of CJP activists being shooed away from a government school in Jaipur in the backdrop, the Basic Education Officers of various UP districts directed schools to restrict the entry of outsiders, including YouTubers and social media users, without prior permission from the authorities concerned.
As students protested recently to flag the lack of facilities in various schools, authorities in two districts have cracked down with FIRs — in Kannauj and Deoria.
While police alleged students were lured with biscuits to join a protest in Kannauj, an activist was booked after filming and posting a video of a ‘dilapidated’ school campus in Deoria.
The action comes amid Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s directive on Saturday to file FIRs and take strict action against those spreading false information and “misleading” videos about schools and colleges.
The CM, at an event in Lucknow, said on Sunday that some people were posting videos of dilapidated school buildings on social media to “tarnish” the government’s image.
According to police sources, on August 20, students and their parents staged a protest against the headmaster of a composite school in Gugarapur, stopping and surrounding his vehicle and raising slogans in Kannauj.
Parents alleged that the headmaster had discriminated against the students, misbehaved with them and assaulted them. Students also boycotted classes.
However, officials said that during an inquiry, headmaster Rakeshendra Saxena alleged that the students were made to participate in the protest as part of a conspiracy against him. He claimed some people had distributed biscuits and offered other incentives to lure the children into the protest.
After a video of the incident went viral, an inquiry was conducted by an officer. Students allegedly told the officer that unidentified persons had lured them with biscuits and persuaded them to take part in the protest.
Kannauj Block Education Officer Vishwanath Pathak — the complainant in the case — alleged in his complaint to the police that some political persons were using the incident to tarnish the image of the education department and the state government.
Pathak further alleged that some people shown in the video as students’ parents were actually local anti-social elements.
The case was filed against unidentified persons at Gurusahaiganj police station for abetment, presence of an abettor when an offence is committed, abetment of an offence by the public or more than 10 persons, and unlawful assembly, four days ago.
According to the SHO, Gurusahaiganj police station, the case was lodged for misguiding the students. No arrest was made so far.
Meanwhile, in Deoria, activist and local resident Rajat Singh was booked for allegedly entering a primary school without permission and posting a video showing its “dilapidated” condition.
The education department, however, said the campus had an unused building that was auctioned and demolished as per rules. Some debris remained in a corner and was being cleared. The department said it was completely removed after Singh’s video was circulated.
Singh was booked under charges of statements conducing to public mischief and criminal trespass and house-trespass at Gauri Bazar police station. The complaint was lodged by Block Education Officer Vinay Sheel Mishra.
In his complaint, Mishra claimed that on August 16, when the school was closed and its gates were locked, Singh allegedly entered the premises by climbing over the boundary wall and filmed the remains of an old, unused building.
As per the complaint, Singh recorded the debris and circulated the video on social media with the intention of tarnishing the image of the education department and portraying the school in a misleading manner.
Mishra alleged that entering the school premises without permission and recording and publicly circulating a purportedly misleading video amounted to an unauthorised act and had harmed the reputation of the school and the department.
