UP teacher suspended for smoking inside classroom, video goes viral

A teacher of a primary school in Mahmudabad, Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh, has been suspended for smoking inside the classroom full of students on Saturday. A purported video of him smoking inside the classroom went viral on social media. In the video, the teacher was seen lighting and smoking a beedi (hand-rolled cigarette) inside a classroom full of primary students.

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Speaking over the issue, District Basic Education Officer Ajay Kumar said, "Video of a teacher smoking inside the classroom had gone viral on social media. I had sent the division education officer to the school to confirm the identity of the teacher. After his face matched with the person in the video, I suspended him," said. Kumar said that teachers shouldn't smoke at all let alone inside classrooms. "Teachers have a huge impact on students. They shouldn't smoke at all," he added. 

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Teachers suspended for drinking

Earlier, in a similar incident, Jashpur District Collector Nilesh Kshirasagar in July suspended Ajaydan Minj, a primary teacher who was allegedly seen in an inebriated state in a classroom in Turangkhar primary school. A viral video, that surfaced on social media showed the teacher being confronted by the locals after he was seen sleeping with his head down in the classroom.

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In the video, the teacher was consistently seen denying that he had consumed alcohol after the locals asked him why he had come to school in a drunken state. Locals were demanding strictest action against the teacher from the authorities after they were informed by the students about the teacher's conduct in the classroom.

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(With ANI input)