Mizoram: Teacher arrested for stripping minor student suspended

Aizawl: A teacher of a government-run school in southern Mizoram’s Lunglei district, who was arrested on Saturday for stripping a 6-year-old student of her uniform and sending her home naked, has been suspended for her misconduct, school education department director H. Lalthlangliana said on Tuesday.

The suspension order, which was issued on Monday, stated that a case against P C Lalbiakengi has been registered under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and has been detained.

“Therefore, P C Lalbiaksangi is deemed to have been suspended in terms of sub rule-2 of Rule 10 of CCS (CCA) Rules 1965 and shall remain under suspension with immediate effect until further order,” the order said.

As per the agreement between her and the state project director of Samagra Shiksha, she will not be entitled to any pay during the suspension period, it said.

Lalthlangliana said that the teacher, who was taking charge as headmistress of the school, was penalised because she has done what a teacher should not do.

She was a contractual employee under Samagra Shiksha and has been working for years, he said.

She is suspended for her misconduct until further order, he added. 

Lalbiakengi was arrested on Saturday and has been remanded to a 14-day judicial custody after she was produced before the magistrate on Sunday following an FIR submitted by the Lunglei District Child Protection Unit.

She has been incarcerated at Lunglei district Jail. The accused was booked under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Lalbiakengi had stripped a class-I student at Thangpui Primary School in Lunglei district and sent her home naked when the child’s mother tried to take her home along with her brother.

The incident happened on August 25 when all students were present.

The child’s mother Nancy Lalnunsangi said that her daughter had been physically assaulted by a boy in the school on August 22.

“My daughter was beaten black and blue by her classmate (boy) after which she vomited blood and felt abdominal pain. However, as she was so eager to go back to school wearing the school uniform for the first time this year; she went back the next day only to be beaten by the same boy again,” she said.

She said she went to the school and scolded the boy for which she was rebuked by the teacher. “The teacher called me over the phone and rebuked me citing she was not happy for my conduct and that I breached the school rules,” Nancy said.

The teacher even made a complaint on a WhatsApp group of teachers.

“Because of this, I was so angry and frustrated that I went to the school on August 25 to take my daughter along with her brother. At this juncture, the teacher intervened and told me if I were to take home my child, I should leave her uniform behind as another student needed it. She then stripped my daughter in front of me and her classmates and let her go with only her underwear. She gave the school uniform to another student,” the mother said.

Mizoram’s apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), has demanded her termination citing she is not fit to continue as a teacher. 

Also read | Mizoram: Cops arrest teacher who stripped minor of school uniform