Agitated over unfair suspension of five staff members of a corporation-run school in Mangolpuri in connection with the rape of a seven-year-old girl on March 1, teachers from the primary schools of municipal corporations of Delhi staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday demanding their immediate reinstatement followed by departmental inquiry into the incident.

As per Ram Kishan Punia, chairman of the joint council of primary teachers, while council condemns the incident and hope that people responsible for it should be severely punished, people who have nothing to do with the incident should not be punished. “The investigators are not even sure if the rape took place inside the school or not.

So, when there is no clarity about it, why have the teachers been suspended? We demand revoking of suspension and initiation of departmental inquiry in the incident,” said Punia.

Four staff members of the Mongolpuri Primary School including principal Neelam Karwal, teacher Monica Kohli, attendant Sushila and watchman Kailash were suspended on March 2 by North Delhi municipal commissioner P K Gupta. A day later, school inspector Balraj Singh was also suspended.

Karwal claimed the rape did not happen inside the school and none of the staff members was involved.

“The girl left the school in the afternoon and we only came to know about it the next day when her parents came to school and staged a demonstration. Why were the police not informed the day of rape? Something is not right somewhere. Unless the truth is discovered, none of us should be harassed,” said Karwal. Similar opinions were expressed by other protesting teachers.

Meanwhile, police are yet to make an arrest in the incident.