In a shocking incident, a Dalit Sanskrit teacher at an Uttar Pradesh government school in the state's Barabanki district accused his principal and other staff of 'harassing' him as he belonged to the scheduled caste (SC) and cutting his 'choti' (a lock of hair).
In a letter to the district education officials, the teacher said that some staff members of the school, including the principal, who hailed from upper castes, often abused and humiliated him, according to the reports.
''These upper caste teachers have formed a group...a few days back they also cut my choti,'' the Sanskrit teacher said in the letter.
The principal of the school, however, rejected the allegations and said that the teacher had earlier been suspended on charges of indiscipline and also that he had been reinstated barely a few months back.
A senior district education official in Barabanki said that a probe into the matter had been ordered. ''The allegations will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken against the guilty,'' he added.
In another incident, a video showed some children cleaning the toilet at their school in UP's Ballia district, about 400 kilometres from here. The video, which went viral on social media on Thursday, showed barefooted primary school children cleaning the toilet as a man, who stood nearby, was heard scolding them.
The district education officials said that a probe was already ordered into the incident.