How dare you hit me! Principal and librarian exchange slaps at MP school; suspended

Khargone (MP): A corridor of a school in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district turned into a fighting zone with the principal and the librarian, both women, slapping and pulling each other's hair following an argument.

Authorities suspended both women after a video of the physical fight at the Eklavya Adarsh Awasiya Vidyalaya or Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) went viral last week.

The principal and the librarian have lodged cross complaints at Mengaon police station, an officer said.

The 90-second video clip shows the principal and the librarian arguing loudly. While one of them tries to record the verbal exchange on her mobile phone, the other woman slaps her, snatches her phone, and throws it to the ground.

One of the women, dressed in pink salwar-kameez, pulls at the stole of her rival, getting slapped left, right and centre.

"Aapne mujhe thappad kaise mara"? she keeps asking, to which the other woman says, "self-defence." The two keep pulling each other's hair and exchanging blows until another woman intervenes and separates them.

Sources said the fight was the fallout of arguments over the division of work between the librarian and the principal.

After the video clip surfaced on social media, both women were removed from the school and assigned to the office of Assistant Commissioner Tribal Development, Khargone.

"A fight between the school principal and the teacher (librarian) is an unfortunate incident," said Khargone district collector Bhavya Mittal.

She said Commissioner of Society, New Delhi, Ajit Kumar Shrivastava, has suspended school principal Praveen Dahiya with immediate effect.

"An overall report, also including other issues, was sent to the state government and the National Education Society for Tribal Students, an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs," Mittal said.

Assistant Commissioner of MP Tribal Welfare Department Prashant Arya said the librarian, identified as Madhurani, has also been suspended based on the recommendation received by the state government.

Superintendent of Police Dharmaraj Meena said both women have filed complaints against each other at Mengaon police station. "Their statements are being recorded after obtaining medical reports," he added.