The matter came to light on Tuesday when two farmers in Gonna village, where the school is situated, saw headmistress Banasri Thakur Mukherjee and teacher Joydeb Gorai “slip into” a grocery shop minutes after a cycle van carrying six sacks stopped in front of it.
The farmers informed other villagers about the incident. Yesterday, around 100 villagers went to the school and demanded an explanation from Mukherjee and Gorai. “We confined the duo to a classroom and asked them repeatedly if they had sold the rice,” said Prasanta Das, a villager.
When Mukherjee and Gorai denied the charge, the villagers called police. “During interrogation, they confessed to their crime,” Das said.
The duo told the police they had sold the rice to “raise funds to organise Saraswati puja at the school”.
Another villager, Sagar Bagdi, said the headmistress told the police that several of the 100 students came from poor families and could not pay the Rs 5 subscription for the puja. “She said the money collected was not enough to organise the puja and prepare bhog,” Bagdi said.
The villagers said the school authorities fed the students khichudi, vegetable curry, tomato chutney and sandesh on the day of the puja (Tuesday).
A police officer said the rice had been sold for Rs 3,500.