A Muslim headmaster of a government primary school in Mathura was suspended after allegations were made by a local BJP leader of forcing namaz and other Islamic teachings on students.
The suspension has been revoked after investigation revealed that there was no evidence.
The BJP leader, Durgesh Pradhan had accused Jan Mohammad of “brainwashing students” and forcing them to offer namaz. He had also claimed that Mohammad had halted national anthem in school and was disrespectful to Hindu religion.
Mohammad who is serving the school since 2007 was suspended on January 31 after the allegations were made. The suspension was immediate even without a preliminary inquiry was conducted.
After the suspension, a probe was conducted. The school teachers, management members and students were questioned about Mohammad who proclaimed his innocence. The school has 235 students and only 89 of them are Muslims. Mohammad is the only Muslim among the teaching staff. All the Hindu teachers denied the allegations and called them “completely inaccurate.”
One of the teachers said, “No forced prayers were offered in the school. The allegations are simply not true. The national anthem is sung daily.”
Another teacher stated, “If there was anything like that happening, CCTV footage would have confirmed it but the opposite has happened. There is no truth to the allegations.”
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Based on the accounts, the administration concluded that the allegations were false.
The investigation revealed that no Hindu student confirmed the allegations. CCTV footage was analysed, lending further support to his defence.
On social media, several social media handles linked with the right wing groups targeted Mohammad and Muslim community at large.
OpIndia, a hindutva backed media channel, in its article claimed that the headmaster was involved in “brainwashing and religious conversions”. The article asserted that he disparaged Hindu deities and brought members of the Tablighi Jamaat into the school for forced conversion, and that students were reprimanded for singing the national anthem.
It repeated allegations from a local BJP leader that children were pressured to follow Islamic teachings and that Islam was proclaimed “the best religion in the world”. The piece portrayed these claims as factual, stating that a preliminary investigation confirmed the allegations and that the headmaster was suspended as a result.
As rights groups continue to stress, protecting press freedom must go hand in hand with enforcing ethical standards, so that the media does not become a vehicle for hate, but a platform for facts and justice, especially when unverified and politically motivated allegations by BJP leaders can lead to swift punitive action when the individuals accused are from minority communities.