Dhanbad school principal makes 80 girl students remove shirts for celebrating ‘Pen Day’, DC orders probe

Dhanbad: After the principal of a prominent private school here allegedly made 80 Class X girl students remove their shirts over which messages were written while celebrating ‘Pen Day' on the last day of their school on Thursday, deputy commissioner Madhvi Mishra on Saturday formed a five-member committee of officials to probe the incident. The principal has, however, refuted the allegation that she asked them to take off their shirts before going home.The DC's move followed after parents and Jharia MLA Ragini Singh took up the matter with the school management and the district administration on Saturday. The MLA dubbed the principal's action shameful. "I am quite shocked how a woman principal can behave like this. The teenage girls are in trauma after the incident," said Ragini Singh, who demanded stern action against the principal.Talking to media persons on Saturday on the collectorate premises, the DC said she has talked to the parents and the students about the issue. "It's a matter of serious concern. Based on the findings and the probe report of the committee, action will be taken. If needed, an FIR will be lodged in this connection."According to the parents' complaint, Class X students of the school celebrated ‘Pen Day' on the last of their pre-board examination, also their last day in school before their final examinations, by inscribing messages on each other's shirts. However, the principal disapproved of it and allegedly made the students remove them. The students were then sent home wearing only blazers without their shirts.The DC said the probe committee, headed by SDM Rajesh Kumar, has already started an investigation.SDM Kumar said, "We are interrogating some staff members and teachers of the school who were present at the time of the incident. Besides, we have collected CCTV camera footage of different locations of the school."Meanwhile, the school principal denied making any such order. "I didn't ask them to open their shirts and go. I told them to go in proper uniform only and not to linger around here," she told the media on Saturday.