KOLKATA: The principal of Dunlop Khalsa Model Senior Secondary School (KMSSS) Gurmeet Kaur Arjani and other members of the KMSSS management committee, including president Davinder Singh Benipal and secretary Gurdev Singh Lapran, have been summoned by Barrackpore cops for questioning in connection with the alleged suicide of 58-year-old school teacher Jasbir Kaur.
The teacher was found hanging in her Dakshineswar apartment on Thursday evening after streaming a live video on her social media page accusing the school principal and management committee members of mental harassment.
Kaur's students, neighbours, and relatives have demanded an immediate and thorough investigation into her death.
Those summoned by cops were reportedly named in an FIR filed for abetment to suicide by Kaur's brother Jasbinder Singh with Dakshineswar police station.
"The victim's postmortem was conducted at the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital, Kamarhati, on Friday. We have already registered a case, and all the persons named in the FIR are being interrogated. Further legal action will be taken based on the evidence," said Barrackpore commissioner Alok Rajoria.
Kaur lived alone in a first-floor apartment at Dakshineswar's Matrimandir Lane after her husband's murder in 2003. Her two sons live abroad.
"For the past five years, I raised my voice against the irregularities and corruption of the school's new management committee members and the principal. Efforts were made to harass and isolate me. They even started pressuring me to submit a BEd certificate barely one and a half years before my retirement. I have no choice but to take this drastic step," Kaur said in her livestream.
The school authorities, however, denied allegations of harassment. "She was suffering from depression due to living alone and being upset about not possessing a BEd certificate. I had a good relationship with her. Barely three days ago, she pleaded with me at the school entrance, saying, ‘Please do something for me'. However, I couldn't understand what she meant at the time," said Gurbinder Singh, a senior member of the KMSSS management committee.
According to school sources, Kaur was an alumna of KMSSS, where she later dedicated over 22 years as a kindergarten teacher. She was affectionately known to her students as "Aunty Madam".
"Kaur Madam was very gentle and calm. We are in shock and cannot comprehend why she took such an extreme step," a student said.
Neighbours also called for a proper inquiry. "She was a kind-hearted woman. She treated me like her own child. Recently, she was reluctant to go to school. When I asked her about it, she confided she was being harassed by members of the school administration. Her death must be investigated without delay," said Soma Mukherjee, her neighbour.
Kaur's brother Jasbinder said, "The school principal and some members of the management committee mentally harassed her regularly, demanding a teachers' training certificate. They threatened to withhold her retirement benefits, including her provident fund, gratuity, and pension. The tragedy occurred shortly after a meeting with the principal and his associates. Their actions pushed my sister to take this drastic step, and they must be held accountable with exemplary punishment."