Imphal, Feb 1 : The teachers arrested for preventing students from taking part in Republic Day celebrations were released on bail today even as their families slammed the Okram Ibobi Singh government for its “unsympathetic attitude.”
Police had arrested seven teachers, including five principals of government higher secondary schools, on the charge that they had tried to prevent students from taking part in the Republic Day march past following threats from militants.
The principals — Y. Nongallei of C.C. HS School, Ch. Padmabati Devi of T.G. HS School, Y. Ibetombi Devi of Ibotonsana Girls HS School, S. Khomdonbi Devi of Johnstone HS School and L. Rashi Devi of Ram Lal Pal HS School — were arrested on Tuesday. All these schools are located in Imphal East and Imphal West.
The court of the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal, M. Padmashore Singh, remanded them in police custody on Wednesday.
The other two teachers — Ch. Devebdra and Th. Tomba Singh of Ram Lal Pal HS School — were arrested yesterday.
The police produced all the seven teachers in the same court this afternoon and they were released around 1pm on a personal bond of Rs 40,000 each.
The families of the principals expressed “unhappiness” at the action taken by the government, though they refrained from criticising it openly.
“Teachers are weak and soft targets. What they can do when they are threatened with death? Even the offices of the chief minister and the governor are attacked. In this situation, how can the teachers defend themselves?” the husband of one of the teachers asked.
The husbands of the teachers claimed that the five principals had jointly submitted a written complaint to the joint education director, reporting the threat and requesting exemption from Republic Day-related work.
“Instead of taking one-sided action, the government should have considered the situation sympathetically,” one of the husbands, also a teacher, said.
The Manipur Peoples Liberation Front, an umbrella group of three major militant outfits, had called a boycott of Republic Day celebrations and allegedly asked schools not to participate in the marchpast.
The teachers’ bail comes a day after the All Manipur Government Higher Secondary School Students Union set January 2 as the deadline for their release, failing which it threatened to launch an agitation.
In a meeting, the students accused the government of “targeting” teachers after failing to contain militancy.