Call For Strike in Middle, Pry Schools, Geelani Steps In
SRINAGAR: Authorities on Friday resorted to lathi charge and used colour water to foil the protest march towards civil secretariat by Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers.
Hundreds of the protesting employees including women were taken into custody alleged that they were beaten to pulp in the police stations. However Police rejected the allegations, saying no one was beaten up in the lock up.
According to eye witnesses, hundreds of Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers gathered near Khalsa School wherefrom they began March towards civil secretariat however they were intercepted by Police resulting in the ding dong battle between the Police and the protesting employees. The police reportedly used the colour water to disperse them but later resorted to lathi charge which created panic among the employees.
Chairman of the Rehbar e Taleem Forum Gazi Ab. Aziz said that nearly 200 hundred ReT teachers managed to reach the front gate of the Civil Secretariat where according to him Police resorted to heavy baton charge resulting in the injuries to number of Teachers.
They bundled us in the police vehicles and then bashed us ruthlessly in the police stations. Many of the arrested teachers are badly injured and nobody is caring to provide them medical help. Gazi said.
Police however rejected the allegations saying, no one was beaten up in the lock ups. They created ruckus on the roads and blocked them for traffic which prompted us to take preventive measures, SHO Shaheed Gunj Syed Shoukat said.
Gazi in the meantime said that the forum has called for a one day strike in Primary and Middle schools on Saturday against what he said the highhandedness of the authorities to foil todays protest.
We have given a dead line up to 15th of August to Government to solve our problems and if they failed we will be left with no other option other than to intensify our protest said Gazi
Meanwhile the teachers who evaded arrest re assembled near Press enclave where they again staged the protest in the afternoon which was joined by the Awami Ithad Party president and MLA Langet Engineer Rasheed also.
The Rehbar e Taleem teachers Forum has been demanding inclusion of five years service for promotionary and seniority benefits, Release of pending salary of SSA teachers, Transfer policy for the regularized ReTs, Implementation of order No. 115 to solve NPS problem and reducing the qualifying service to 20 from 28.
Meanwhile Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani strongly condemned the police action on the Protesting Rehbar e taleem teachers and said that the Government has left no space available for the peaceful protests in support of genuine demands in the state.
They suppress the voices for genuine demands with lathis and power, Geelani told KNS, adding that Hurriayt Conference was strongly condemning the action against the teachers.
In the meantime Dy Chief Minster Tara Chand who is also holding the Education Portfolio asked Police to release all the teachers from police stations later in the afternoon and has agreed to meet the representatives of the forum next week. The assurance from the Dy CM has come during his meeting with Awami Ithad Party chief and Independent MLA Engineer Rashid who had called upon him after joining the teachers in the protest.
I met with Dy. CM who has agreed to meet the forum leaders and discuss the issues on the table and he has also directed Police to release all the teachers who were taken into custody during protest, Rasheed said.