A school in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha expelled a seven-year-old student on Thursday after claiming that he brought non-vegetarian biryani in his tiffin, The Times of India reported.
A purported video widely shared online shows an argument between the Class 3 student’s mother and the school principal.
The principal, Avneesh Kumar Sharma, can be heard in the purported video saying that he would not teach students who bring non-vegetarian food to school and “who will demolish temples after growing up”.
The principal alleged that the boy had talked about feeding non-vegetarian food to others and “converting them to Islam”.
He also claimed that the boy had admitted to bringing non-vegetarian food to school.
The boy’s mother can be heard denying the claims and saying that her son does not “know this kind of language”. She also confronted the principal for “locking her child in a room” and for “verbal abuse”.
After returning home from the school, the boy had recounted being mistreated and “punished for his meal”, she said.
The video showed the principal telling the woman to “send a man” to discuss the matter and that he “does not talk to a woman”. He also threatened to call the police if the woman did not leave the school premises.
Following widespread condemnation, Sudhir Kumar, the sub-divisional magistrate of Amroha, said that the Basic Shiksha Adhikari and the district inspector of schools had been ordered to investigate the matter, The Times of India reported.
“A committee has been formed to thoroughly investigate the allegations,” Kumar was quoted as saying. “Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Monika, the district’s Basic Shiksha Adhikari, told the newspaper that a three-member panel was probing the matter. “Once the investigation is complete, necessary steps will be taken,” she said.
The student’s expulsion was condemned by the Amroha Muslim Committee. The group also sent a memorandum to the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, demanding strict action against the school principal.
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