{
  "id": 5819629,
  "title": "Kolkata school teacher booked for ‘forcing’ student to remove tilak",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/kolkata-school-teacher-booked-for-forcing-student-to-remove-tilak",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-05T19:14:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/kolkata-school-teacher-booked-for-forcing-student-to-remove-tilak/article71432898.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Kolkata, West Bengal, a school teacher from Holy Mission English Medium School has been suspended and police have registered a case against her. The teacher is accused of allegedly demanding a Class 5 student to remove sandalwood tilak from his forehead. The incident came to light after a video of the student discussing the matter went viral on social media. Parents of the student lodged a complaint, leading to the suspension of the teacher by the school authorities. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari condemned the teacher's actions, emphasizing that wearing tilak or tulsi beads is a part of tradition and cannot be discouraged. An internal inquiry committee has been set up by the school to investigate the incident. Additionally, another employee of the Education Department, who made an objectionable post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign trips on social media, was also suspended by the government.",
  "summary": "West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari says an FIR has been registered against the teacher for ‘hurting religious sentiments’ and ‘humiliating’ the student. Such things ‘will not be allowed in Bengal’, he says",
  "key_points": [
    "Kolkata school teacher suspended for forcing student to remove tilak",
    "Video of student discussing incident went viral on social media",
    "Chief Minister condemns teacher's actions, tilak tradition emphasized"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}