Chhattisgarh school principal removed ‘for distributing books on Asaram to students’

Asaram was punished for raping a woman disciple, who hailed from Surat, on several occasions between 2001 and 2006 when she was living at his ashram in Motera near Ahmedabad. (File Photo)

The principal of a government school in Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur district has been removed from the school and attached to the collector’s office after booklets associated with Asaram, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case, were allegedly distributed among students, officials said on Thursday.

The incident took place on October 26 at Swami Atmanand Government English Medium School of Excellence in Raghunathpur village. The school has over 100 students, and the booklets were allegedly distributed to 25-30 middle school students. The matter came to light on October 27 after children took the booklets home and a parent raised the issue with the education department.

An inquiry was ordered after videos showing students holding the booklets surfaced on social media.

A parent alleged that booklets titled ‘Sanskar Sarita’, ‘Vrat Niyam’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, among others, were distributed during a visit by Asaram’s followers to the school, in the presence of the principal.

A parent told the media that the booklets either propagated Asaram’s views or contained information about his followers. “Given that he is serving a jail term for serious offences and the government has seized his ashrams, such material should not be circulated,” he said. “Yet, booklets associated with him were handed out to students. We strongly object to this and demand stringent action against the principal.”

Balrampur District Education Officer Narendra Nirapure told The Indian Express that the Block Education Officer had been directed to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.

The official said that, based on preliminary findings, principal Mahesh Prajapati had been removed from the school and attached to the collector’s office. Nirapure said: “The principal, in his defence, said he was not aware of the contents of the book and the people who came to circulate the books misled him by saying they just wanted to circulate some books and he permitted them to do so”.

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On May 27 this year, the Rajasthan High Court upheld a 2018 trial court order convicting Asaram of raping a minor at his Jodhpur ashram in 2013 and sentencing him to life imprisonment, while setting aside his conviction for gang rape.

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Jayprakash S Naidu is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently serving as the sta... Read More