Teachers call off stir after SOP issued, seek case withdrawal in assault row

Dehradun: Teachers in Dehradun temporarily called off their four-day agitation on Wednesday after BJP MLA from Raipur Umesh Kumar Kau apologised for the assault on primary education director, Ajay Kumar Naudiyal, and the govt released a standard operating procedure (SOP) for visitors to govt offices to ensure the safety of public employees. The govt also assured them that the case against education department personnel would be withdrawn.Mukesh Bahuguna, general secretary of teachers' association, said, "With the SOP now in place, withdrawal of the case remains our only pending demand. If assurances are not fulfilled or similar incidents recur, we will resume the agitation on a larger scale."Terming the incident "unfortunate", Kau said at a press conference, "We hold immense respect for all officials. The education department has always had our support, and we have received their cooperation in the past. The issue arose over adding a prefix to a school name for which a family donated 1.5 beegha of land. I tried to intervene, but it escalated, and I am deeply apologetic. My apologies to all stakeholders." He added that Naudiyal was "like a brother" to him and that his injuries were "no different from injuries sustained by the MLA."The incident occurred on Feb 21, when a dispute over the renaming of an aided school in Raipur escalated, leading to the alleged assault in the MLA's presence. FIRs were lodged by both sides.Teachers termed the assault on a sitting official inside his office an "insult to the sanctity of the post". Naudiyal sustained facial injuries in the scuffle. Since then, they had been protesting outside the education directorate, demanding a public apology, withdrawal of the case against department personnel and a formal SOP to ensure officials' safety. During the agitation, teachers worked wearing black armbands, while administrative work remained largely stalled. A complete boycott was avoided due to the ongoing board examinations.