A government school headmaster in the Gadag district has been suspended for allegedly organising an essay competition on the Prophet Muhammad secretly despite having no such directive from the Karnataka government. Additional Commissioner of Public Instruction, Sidramappa S. Biradar suspended Abdul Munaf Bijapur, headmaster of the government high school in Nagavi, Gadag taluk.
The investigation in the case came after members of the Hindu organisation Sri Rama Sene protested against the headmaster. The incident occurred in Nagavi’s Government High School. On Wednesday, the investigation was launched, and the block education officer stated that a complaint had been lodged and that he would forward a copy of the complaint to the deputy director of the state education department.
An investigation found that the headmaster had organised an essay contest after providing a book on Prophet Muhammad to 43 students in class 8 without telling other educators or the department. Headmaster Abdul Munaf purportedly gave books to kids and organised the essay competition with a cash award of Rs 5,000.
“During the preliminary inquiry, the allegations against him seemed to be true, which is why he has been suspended,” Mr. Biradar stated in the order.
“I came to know that the headmaster of the school was trying to impose Islam in the minds of students by conducting an essay writing competition and announcing Rs 5,000 prize money. The boys and girls, in the hope of winning Rs 5,000, were made to write essays. His intention was to convert students, that’s why I informed Sri Ram Sene activists. I want to know what’s the intention behind organising an essay competition on Prophet Muhammad,” Sharanappa Gowda Haplad, a parent,said.