Girl locked up in classroom, teacher suspended

Kendrapara (Odisha): A six-year-old girl faced a three-hour horrifying ordeal after teachers of a government-run upper primary school left her all alone inside a classroom by locking up the building.

The incident that occurred in Hariabanka primary school in Kharinasi gram panchayat Mahakalpada police station jurisdiction had sparked tension in the area following which a teacher was suspended, officials said today.

The girl had a nightmarish ordeal following the forgetful act on part of teachers on Saturday and she spent around three hours in confinement before the locals managed to locate her.

The girl was rescued after locals broke open the door frames of the classroom.

Angry villagers staged a protest and stopped teachers from entering into the school on Monday demanding stern action against the guilty.

"It's an unfortunate incident. It's reckless and irresponsible behaviour on part of school teachers. While a teacher has been suspended, salary payment of three teachers has been held up as a disciplinary measure as they had left the school before the scheduled closure hour", said Kendrapara District Education Officer, Sangram Kumar Sahu.

"We desperately searched for her as she did not return home after school closure. Some children were playing kabadi in a nearby playground. They could hear the screams from the school premises. After the children alerted, villagers rushed to the school and rescued my daughter by breaking open the door", said victim's father Subhash Jana.