Headmaster arrested for selling mid-day meal rice

AGARTALA: A headmaster of a school and a rickshaw puller were arrested from Khayerpur, about 20 km from here, for selling rice allotted for the mid-day meal scheme in the open market, police said today.


Local people stopped a rickshaw in which 200 kg of rice, lifted from a godown, was being taken to the nearby market yesterday to be sold. They then informed the police about it.

The police seized 200 kg of rice from the rickshaw puller, who confessed that he had been employed by the headmaster of Akshay Kumar Junior Basic School, Uttam Kumar Bhattacharya, to lift the rice from the godown and sell it in the open market.

Bhattacharya and the rickshaw puller were arrested. Meanwhile, state School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty has directed all headmasters and inspectors of schools to taste midday meals before it were served to the school children.

"The school management committees, guardians and inspectors of schools have been asked to keep vigil on midday meal distribution in each school everyday and stern actions would be taken in case of any lapse," he said.