Stolen govt school textbooks found in scrapyard
A large volume of government books for the new academic year, stolen from the Deputy Education Officer in Kallur Kot, were found in a junkyard on Wednesday. Instead of being distributed to students in the school, the books, provided by the Punjab government, were allegedly sold by a janitor against a small sum of money.
The students still have not received books for the new academic year and officials will likely face harsh punishment. On Wednesday, the Assistant Commissioner received reports about the presence of a collection government books at the junkyard.
Assistant Commissioner Kallur Kot Zulfikar Ali Khan and officials of the intelligence agency retrieved hundreds of books from junkyards in the city of Kallur Kot. The books would have been distributed for free from Class VI to X.
The scrapyard owner was arrested, but a Deputy Education Officer employee who was reportedly selling government books managed to flee. The anti-corruption agency will deal with the case of education books, police said.
AC Kallur Kot told the Express Tribune about multiple instances of government textbooks being sold to scrap dealers through the Deputy Education Office, instead of being providing to students free of charge.
He stated that hundreds of books that were provided for free to students from Class VI to X had been found and that those responsible for the crime would face legal prosecution.
The AC claimed that a warehouse of government books was sealed and a thorough investigation is on hold.
Meanwhile, police are on the hunt to apprehend Yasin, a class IV employee accused of selling government books.
The Class IV staffer has been charged by the Deputy Education Kallur Kot officials with selling books for personal profit.
While praising AC Kallur Kot's initiative to retrieve government books, Kallur Kot's public social and civic circles have called for immediate action and the arrest of the accused's other accomplices.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2023.