Office assistant fired ‘for being Dalit’ seeks justice

KHOTANG, Aug 3: An office assistant at a school in Diktel, the district headquarters of Khotang has claimed that the school administration fired her for being a Dalit.

“Roshan Dhakal, principal of Saraswati Boarding School, and assistant principal lalit Kumar Basnet dismissed me from my job after coming to know about my caste,” said Binda Bishwokarma, who worked for the Boarding School.

“Roshan and Lalit sir would drink tea prepared by me. Both of them should be booked for mistreating me based on caste,” she said in a memorandum submitted to the District Coordination Committee Chief Babi Chamling and Chief District Officer Surendra Raj Poudel demanding action against the guilty.

In response, receiving the memorandum, Chamling said preliminary study shows that Bishwokarma has become a victim of racial discrimination, and action would be taken against the accused after launching additional investigations.

Bishwokarma was dismissed from the school on June 10, according to the memorandum.

When contacted, both accused school principal Dhakal and assistant principal Basnet could not be reached for comment.