Students 'throw firecrackers' inside staffroom, teacher injured

Kolkata: A female teacher was injured when students who were allegedly stopped from cheating during an examination, threw firecrackers inside the staff room of Shambazar AV School in North Kolkata on Monday. The incident took place after the Higher Secondary examinations concluded.

The school authorities alleged that the incident took place after some

students were prevented from entering the examination hall with cell phones, while some others were prevented from adopting unfair means by strict invigilators. Monday was the last day of the Higher Secondary examination.

The injured Bengali teacher Soma Dutta said: "The students were bursting firecrackers in front of the school gate at around 1.30 pm after the examination ended. When they were told not to do so, some of them entered into the school premises and threw one or two crackers inside the staff room. I sustained injury in one of my legs. We had seized two cell phones and took all possible measures to prevent students from cheating, which perhaps triggered the incident."

Shambazar AV School was the examination centre for the students of Tantia School in Burrabazar. The invigilators at the centre were strict from the very beginning and were vigilant enough to prevent students from adopting unfair means during the entire examination schedule.

Mass Communication, Sanskrit, Economics and Chemistry examinations was held on Monday and two students were caught by invigilators while cheating.

Two cell phones were also seized when the students carrying them tried to enter the examination hall, ignoring the directives of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination.

A team from Shyampukur police station rushed to the spot after being intimated by the school authorities. A senior administrative official informed that they will lodge a complaint with the council regarding the incident.

The police, however, claimed that a few students were expressing their jubilant mood after the HS examination concluded, which is why they burst some firecrackers outside the school premises. "We have received no complaint from the school authorities in this regard," an officer of Shyampukur police station said.

The police also questioned a shopkeeper whose shop was situated just beside the window of the staff room through which the firecrackers were allegedly thrown.

The council, however, claimed in a press statement that examinations passed off peacefully on Monday and there were no complaints from any part of the state.