Black sheep after honest principals integrity: Principal Forum
SRINAGAR: Apparently aghast at the sexual abuse allegations leveled by a student of S.P. Higher Secondary School, Srinagar against the principal, Reyaz Ahmad Siddiqi, students and teachers alike Wednesday trashed the allegations describing them as concocted.
A ninth-grader had on Monday alleged the school principal followed him all the way to the washroom and ordered him to undo his pants after cuddling him from behind. He had also alleged the principal offered him some money after the boy raised an alarm.
Look at the nature of the allegation and the lowest of the levels to which a student can stoop, General Secretary Principal Forum Kashmir, Abdul Rashid Lone said. Are you talking about Reyaz Siddiqi? I must say an angel can commit a sin but him, no way.
Students of the school condemned the boy for spreading all kinds of malicious lies against the principal. Ever since Riyaz Sir joined as principal, the school has witnessed a sea-change in the academic and non-academic activities, Aamir, a 12th grader said. Today, we discussed the boy in our circle as to how irresponsible he could be to have said such nasty things against a gentleman.
Loitering around on the road one day, I saw this boy and offered him lift to the school and on reaching home I saw my mobile phone missing, said a boy who wished not to be named. I took up the matter with the authorities and he was severely reprimanded by the principal.
A female teacher pleading anonymity described the boy as ill-bred. His father came to the school one day and complained that he had stolen Rs 35000. He literally barged into my classroom and after frisking his son, he took away from a packet and left, she said.
Another principal, G H Shah who is also the president of Principals Forum believes there is more to what appears to the eye. The institution being a model school is a prize posting upon which the hawks eye all the time, he said. It looks like a revenge tactic adopted by a black sheep to malign a god-fearing gentleman.
Its not for the first time that a snare has been laid to trap a principal, Abdul Rashid Lone said. Many principals in the past have been victims of ploys concocted by their own colleagues. Unfortunately, some of us can stoop to any level to further their ends. Undoubtedly the boy has been used as a mere tool in order to create a suspicion with regard to the integrity of our dear colleague before the higher-ups.
Lone censured the role of some local news agencies. Would you call this journalism, he bewildered. We know their backgrounds inside out. They should have verified the facts before resorting to mudslinging upon a man of integrity.
Meanwhile, Education Department has initiated a departmental inquiry into the incident to verify the veracity of the allegation.
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