Dozen unemployed teachers injured as cops use force to disperse protesters

PATIALA: Over a dozen unemployed teachers protesting outside Sangrur residence of cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla were injured as the police tried to dispel them with force.


The teachers who had been protesting in Sangrur for the last two and half months, gathered at the residence of the cabinet minister on Sunday. They tried to push through the barricades put up by the security personnel, which led to an altercation during which the police resorted to the use of force, tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

In the following melee, unemployed teachers, including Gurjeet Kaur Kheri, Gurpreet Singh, Gurtej Singh, Rajvir Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Jasveer Kaur and Pardeep Singh, sustained grievous injuries and were rushed to Sangrur civil hospital. However, the crowd continued with the protest till late.

Later, officials of the district administration, including sub-divisional magistrate, met the protesters and assured them that the cabinet minister has promised to raise their issues in the next meeting. The minister told the protesters that matter related to removing the clauses in the appointment process, against which the teachers were raising objections, will be put before the cabinet for a resolution.

Meanwhile, the teachers’ union has decided to hold protests by burning effigies of the state government on November 30 and will hand over the charter of demand to all cabinet ministers between December 2 and 8.

Deepak Kamboj, president of the unemployed teachers union said instead of fulfilling the demands of the protesting teachers, the state government used brutal force against them. He said the government has now changed the clauses on various eligibility tests and the teachers have been declared unqualified to be appointed in the state education department. He said the unemployed teachers are also demanding that the government should advertise 30,000 vacancies.

The protesters were also demanding Rs 10 lakh compensation for the family of unemployed teacher Jagsir Singh Mansa, who committed suicide as he was unable to get a job. Stating that chief minister Amarinder Singh had in his election manifesto promised ‘one job for each family’ or an unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500, they alleged that the CM is not not even willing to meet them and hear them out.