Teachers and non-teachers sat-in protests against protesters’ police vehicles in front of Bikash Bhawan on May 15, protesting the Supreme Court’s insistence on Kolkata HC order to cancel the appointment of 25,000 employees of West Bengal schools | Photo source: ANI
The Bidhannagar Municipal Police Department in West Bengal has issued a subpoena to teachers allegedly engaged in a melee with police outside Bikash Bhawan, headquarter of the Ministry of Education of West Bengal.
Teachers are protesting after about 26,000 teachers appointed violations during the cancellation of the recruitment process.
The notice was reportedly sent to more than a dozen teachers, attending Bikash Bhawan when the violence broke out. On Thursday (May 15, 2025), police resorted to batons to clear Bikash Bhawan’s door, and several teachers were injured in police operations. The protesting teacher claimed that the police lawsuit was unreasonable, and senior police officials said the action was to ensure that employees from Bikash Bhawan’s government office returned to their hometown.
“ … During the investigation, it was revealed that you have damaged government property and hindered the legal duties of civil servants and threatened the civil servants to perform their duties, and there are reasonable reasons to question the facts and circumstances you have determined in the investigation.
The Bidhannagar North Police Department has registered a number of teachers who were found in various videos of the conflict on Thursday (May 15, 2025). According to police, 19 of his men were injured in the alleged teacher attack.
“Intimidation Strategy”
Teachers walked the streets after the Supreme Court upheld a Kolkata High Court order, canceling the appointment of about 26,000 teachers after the West Bengal School Services Commission (WBSSC) after irregular behavior during the recruitment process.
The Supreme Court allowed teachers to continue working until the end of the year, but has directed a new recruitment process. The teacher said that their appointments have been cancelled due to corruption by state officials and they will no longer conduct recruitment procedures.
The teacher said that police notifications are a threatening strategy and will not be discouraged by this technique. The teachers stirred outside Bikash Bhawan for 12 days.
“The police are trying to scare us. But we are not afraid and will not stop our protests. They (state government) have done all the corruption and now the police are sending subpoenas to us. We are staged protests, not for fighting but for justice.
The West Bengal recruitment scam surfaced in July 2022, while the Enforcement Bureau was arrested for former state education minister Partha Chatterjee.
The opposition party expressed support for teachers. Leaders of opposition Suvendu Adhikari recently visited the protest site. On Friday (May 16, 2025), some teachers’ students visited the protest venue to express solidarity. West Bengal Committee on the Protection of the Rights of the Child raised its objections to the “use of children” at the protest gathering. On Sunday (May 18, 2025), a group of blind teachers visited Bikash Bhawan to express their support with the protesting teachers.
publishing – May 18, 2025 10:30 pm ist
