TEACHER ARRESTED FOER PANGOLIN TRAFFICKING

TEACHER ARRESTED FOER PANGOLIN TRAFFICKING

17-OCT-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BUXAR--------------------------Sanjay Kumar, a teacher posted at the Upgraded Middle School in Soni village (under Khiri Panchayat in the district’s Rajpur block), has been arrested and sent to jail by the Forest Department in connection with a case of pangolin trafficking. Following a report from the Forest Department, the Education Department has forwarded a request to senior officials to initiate suspension proceedings against him. The emergence of this case has sparked intense discussion within the Education Department and the teaching community.

According to the information received, a joint team from the Forest Department and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) conducted a raid on September 30, following reports of pangolin trafficking in the forests of the Kaimur hills. During the operation, three individuals were arrested near the hills. Among them was Sanjay Kumar—son of Haridwar Paswan and a resident of Nagpur village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Rajpur police station. Officials stated that approximately 10 kilograms of pangolin scales were recovered from the accused.

During the investigation, the Forest Department discovered that the arrested individual, Sanjay Kumar, is employed as a teacher at a government school. The department subsequently informed senior district officials about the matter via an official letter. It is also reported that the teacher had not attended school for about two weeks, which had led to various speculations among the local villagers.

The other two individuals arrested in connection with this case have been identified as Sumit Singh (son of Ramdev Singh, from Gosaipur village under the Nokha police station area in Rohtas district) and Vimal Paswan (son of Niwas Paswan, from Hadri village under the Belaon police station area in Kaimur district).

Suresh Prasad, the District Programme Officer (Secondary Education) and Block Education Officer, stated that an inquiry was conducted following the receipt of the letter from the Forest Department. Consequently, a formal request has been sent to senior departmental authorities to initiate the suspension of the teacher, Sanjay Kumar.

Following the action taken against the teacher in connection with the trafficking case, the Education Department’s final decision regarding his suspension is now awaited.