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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
West Bengal teacher who lost job after SC verdict dies of ‘stress-induced' stroke
A teacher who lost his job after the Supreme Court's recent cancellation of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching appointments died on Friday (August 15, 2025) allegedly following a stroke and consequent brain haemorrhage. Subal Soren, 35, was a teacher of political science for classes 11 and 12 at the State-run Bagalaseni High School in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, according to Suvojit Das, a spokesperson for the 'untainted' teachers' forum, Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM). He was also a member of the Adivasi community and hailed from Sarki village in Mohanpur. Mr. Soren was notably one of the petitioners named in the review petition filed at the Supreme Court seeking a review of its April 3 judgment. The apex court, on April 3, had upheld the Calcutta High Court's cancellation of job appointments from 2016, citing a 'vitiated and tainted' recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission. Protests had erupted among the sacked teachers across the State over their demand for the segregation of 'untainted' candidates and the reinstatement of their jobs without re-examinations. The apex court directed the West Bengal government to complete a fresh recruitment process for assistant teachers' positions by December 31 this year, till when the sacked teachers have been allowed to work with full salaries. Mr. Soren had been a prominent figure at the forefront of the agitations and had been present in multiple instances when police clashed with protesting teachers. 'Subal Sir had no prevailing ailments. He suddenly fell very ill around Monday and was transferred to a private medical hospital in Kolkata a few days later. He suffered a stroke from the unbearable mental agony of having lost his job. This is the mental and physical toll that this sudden job loss is taking on us,' Mr. Das told The Hindu. Mr. Soren was declared dead around 8 in the morning on August 15. He is survived by his wife and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. After his passing, fellow teachers who had been agitating for the last many months gathered near the hospital at the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to pay their respects. 'We organised a memorial march from the hospital gates to Ruby Crossing with his remains on Friday afternoon, to honour his contribution to our movement. However, the police tried to hinder our march and even tried to speed off with the body despite us having consent from Mr. Soren's family,' Mr. Das alleged. He added that teachers had to lie down on the road in front of the ambulance to prevent them from taking away the corpse prematurely from the hospital premises. However, the Kolkata Police, in a statement, claimed that these allegations are false. 'Legal action is being initiated against those responsible for spreading such misinformation,' the statement said. Subsequent clashes with the police had also allegedly taken place at Debra, where Mr. Soren's body had been taken for the last rites.
The Hindu
31-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Police detain teachers protesting against Bengal government's fresh recruitment notification
Police came down heavily on 'untainted' teachers continuing their protests across Kolkata and Bidhannagar on Friday May 30, 2025) after they decided to take out a rally to the State Secretariat to protest the issue of a notification for a fresh selection process. The West Bengal government issued a notification announcing a new State Level Selection Test for the recruitment of teachers for State-run schools, after the Supreme Court on April 3 cancelled the 2016 recruited panel over widespread occurrence of fraud. The apex court had directed the government to initiate fresh recruitments by May 31. On Friday, police detained protesters from various parts of the city who were reportedly on their way to join the rally. Hundreds of protesters were apprehended from places like Sealdah and Esplanade in Central Kolkata, and from outside the State education department headquarters in Bidhannagar. Shubhojit Das, a member of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), claimed that protesters were asked to show identification and were detained from public places like buses, shops, shopping malls etc. 'We had decided to hold a shirtless rally to the State Secretariat at Nabanna today. We wanted to convey our message directly to the Chief Minister because we think our message is not reaching her. However, several of us were detained before the rally could even properly take off,' Mr. Das told The Hindu. The march to Nabana was also to protest the temporary detention of the six teachers who had demanded to meet the Chief Minister on Thursday, and to seek justice for the teacher who reportedly passed away of 'stress-induced stroke' during the protests, he added. Speaking about the detentions, Divisional Commissioner of Police (Central) Indira Mukherjee said, 'We had no information of any gathering or protest in my jurisdiction (Esplanade) area. Because this is a restricted area, we took necessary action… Law and order is our subject, but if the teachers take law and order into their own hands, then we will have to take action.' According to the new recruitment notification, applications were to be submitted between June 16 and July 14 this year. The exam and interview would be held between September and November. 'We are not at all happy about this new notification being issued. We were selected in an honest manner once, so we will not appear for re-examination. We want our jobs to stay as they were,' Hanjela Sheikh, a protesting teacher, said. He added that his fellow protesters were also aggrieved that the government had announced deadlines for a fresh process before the Supreme Court decide on the State's review petition. 'Instead of making us appear for re-examination, the government could have rescreened the OMR sheets from the 2016 panel to bring forth a new merit list if necessary,' Mr. Sheikh suggested.
