17 slaps in 20 seconds: Gujarat school principal assaults teacher; video goes viral

NEW DELHI: A school principal was caught on camera assaulting a teacher inside his office in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, prompting education authorities to launch an investigation.

The incident occurred on 6 February at Navyug Vidyalaya, a grant-in-aid school run by a trust in Jambusar town. Following the incident, the school’s management has instructed principal Hitendra Thakor not to report for duty for the time being, Bharuch District Education Officer Swatiba Raol confirmed on Monday.

CCTV footage released by the school shows principal Thakor seated inside his office, speaking with teacher Rajendrasinh Parmar and other colleagues. Suddenly, Thakor is seen rising from his chair, rushing towards Parmar, and repeatedly attacking him. He then drags Parmar to the floor and slaps him multiple times in the presence of others, who attempt to intervene.

Raol stated that the school management had approached her on 7 February to submit a formal complaint regarding the principal’s conduct.

“After receiving the complaint, I have formed a committee to investigate the incident. The committee will record the principal’s statement today (Monday). We will take appropriate action once the inquiry report is received. For now, the school management has instructed Thakor not to attend school,” said the education officer.

While the exact cause of the altercation remains unclear, Thakor provided his justification for the incident when questioned by the media.

“Many parents had lodged complaints against Parmar. Therefore, I called him for a meeting on 6 February. During that meeting, I attempted to explain things to him politely and questioned why his behaviour had not improved,” claimed Thakor.