Allegations against Amroha principal 'baseless', 'non-veg' video edited

Amroha (UP): A probe into a viral video of alleged misconduct by a school principal here has termed as "baseless" the claims of him holding a nursery student hostage, removing him from the institution, and making derogatory remarks about his food and religious beliefs, officials said on Monday.

The district administration's probe also noted that the purported video, in which the student's mother and the private school principal can be heard arguing, was edited with some claims, including the usage of the term "terrorist," unsubstantiated, they said.

The video sparked a controversy last week, claiming that the principal acted inappropriately towards the nursery student and his family over the child carrying "non-vegetarian" food in his tiffin box.

Taking note of the incident, which also drew flak from certain communities and politicians, District Magistrate Rajesh Tyagi formed an investigation team, headed by District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) V P Singh, to probe the matter.

"The investigation team found the claims against the principal baseless," Singh said.

"The investigation included a review of CCTV footage and school records. It was determined that the allegations of the principal holding the student hostage, removing him from the school, and making derogatory remarks about his food and religious beliefs were not substantiated," he said.

However, the probe report revealed that the principal had indeed spoken harshly with the student's mother, he said.

But it was noted that this was a result of the heated nature of the argument and not of any misconduct on the principal's part, he added.

The investigation also highlighted that the claims of the student being labelled a "terrorist" were untrue. It was found that the term was used by the student's mother during the confrontation, the officer said.

Additionally, the report indicated that the school management had previously waived the fees for one of the student's siblings for the current academic session, while the remaining fees for the other children, totalling Rs 24,000, are still pending, he said.

The viral video, which initially triggered the outrage, was found to be edited, he added.