Assam Police detain headmistress after she carries beef to school

The accused, identified as Dalima Nessa, is the Headmistress of a government school in the state's West Goalpara district.

Guwahati: The Assam Police have detained a school teacher for carrying beef to the school. The accused identified as Dalima Nessa is the Headmistress of a government school in Western Assam's Goalpara district, police said adding that she brought beef to the school when Gunotsav (an evaluation of the school education done in phases by the Assam government) was on.

She was booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). Police said the detention came following a complaint by a colleague who saw her consuming beef during the lunch hour in the school.

The Assam government had enacted the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021 last year that bans the sale and slaughter of cattle in areas where Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs are dominant and within a 5 km radius of the temple, Vishnavite Satra, or any other institutions as may be prescribed by the administration. The school where the incident took place has a mixed population of religious minority people and other religious communities like the Hindus.