Personal visit plea after fake team charge

Updated on: Friday, June 25, 2010

A day after he asked La Martiniere for Boys to prepare a report on the events leading to the suicide of Class VIII student Rouvanjit Rawla, Ramesh Bhattacharya — who clams to head a ministry of human resource development (MHRD) team — declared that his visit to the school had nothing to do with an inquiry.

“I am a member of Rashtriya Sanskrit Parishad. I went there because so many eminent persons visited me and talked about La Martiniere. I felt I must visit (the school) and do some investigation,” he said. “I am very sorry. I don’t know where the media got this information. I went there in my personal capacity. I did not get any written authorization.”

The school, however, shot off a letter to the HRD ministry seeking action against Bhattacharya. Governing body secretary Supriyo Dhar has written to the MHRD director, pointing out that Bhattacharya had asked the principal about the caning incident and sought the contact number of Rouvanjit’s father, Ajay Rawla.

Dhar has mentioned that Bhattachaya asked for a copy of the school rule book and sought a report from the authorities “to be forwarded to the ministry”. Copies of the letter have been sent to the deputy commissioner, Kolkata south, and the officer-in-charge of Shakespeare Sarani police station.

Bhattacharya sent a fax to HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday, saying he had gone to La Martiniere as a member of Rashtriya Sanskrit Parishad to check if the language has been introduced as a subject in the school curriculum.

“I pay periodic visits to minority institutions as a member of the Parishad. My intention was not to conduct an inquiry. I was apprised of the incidents that have been happening in the school and felt it was my moral duty to acquaint myself with the situation. They had raised the issue and after listening to the school authorities, I asked them to give me a report. But I made it clear to the school that it is not mandatory for them to prepare the report,” said Bhattacharya. “I received no instruction to conduct an inquiry from the HRD ministry,” he said. Asked if he has been instructed to stop the inquiry, Bhattacharya said: “I have received no communication from the ministry.”

National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, which conducted an inquiry into the caning of Rouvanjit Rawla and his suicide, slammed Bhattacharya. Terming his actions “shameful”, NCMEI member Mohammed Kamal said Bhattacharya had indulged in a “criminal act by posing as a probe team member”. “Since he had no authority to probe, he had no business asking for a report. The school should have checked his credentials and asked for an authorization letter,” said Kamal.

NCMEI has recommended the suspension of La Martiniere for Boys principal Sunirmal Chakravarthy and sought a repeal of the school’s minority status.

Personal visit plea after fake team charge

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