“An Anganwadi worker locked inside a room in Gajaria, Mohanpur.”

Sikta Pal is the Anganwadi worker of the DM Colony Anganwadi Centre in Gajaria village of Mohanpur. The mothers of the children in the area are angry with the behaviour of this Anganwadi worker. On Thursday, demanding her transfer, the mothers unitedly locked the Anganwadi centre with the worker inside.

The angry mothers alleged that Sikta Pal scolds the children frequently and makes them bring firewood for cooking. Whenever anyone protests, she gets furious. Several meetings were held with the village head and panchayat members regarding her behaviour, but nothing changed, they claimed. The mothers further alleged that she made a three-and-a-half-year-old child bring firewood for the Anganwadi centre’s cooking. When the child’s mother protested and later went to collect a transfer certificate to admit her child to another school, Sikta Pal allegedly refused to give it. This triggered strong resentment among other mothers. On Thursday, the mothers kept her inside the centre and locked it from outside. The villagers shared this account.

They also said that because of her behaviour, they do not send their children regularly to the Anganwadi centre. The children themselves are scared of her and do not want to attend. As a result, an uncomfortable atmosphere has developed at the centre. The village mothers demanded immediate transfer of the Anganwadi worker to resolve this situation.

When journalists attempted to speak to the locked-in worker Sikta Pal, she became extremely agitated upon seeing them. She said all the allegations against her are false and claimed that everything is running properly at the Anganwadi centre. She remained locked inside the centre for about two-and-a-half to three hours. Later, officials from the Social Welfare Department arrived and released her.