Kanpur: The headmaster of a primary school in Kanpur Dehat district on Wednesday allegedly 'purified' with water a chair used by a woman Dalit pradhan. A probe was ordered into the incident after the woman lodged a complaint with the district administration. Pappi Devi, pradhan of Veersinghpur, had gone to the school in her village to register a protest following complaints about poor quality of midday meals. In her complaint to the administration, she said headmaster Santosh Sharma not only humiliated her, but also asked students and staff to clean and 'purify' the chair she had used. The administration asked the tehsildar to probe the allegations. "Sharma humiliated me for daring to sit on a chair in the school," Devi told TOI over the phone. "When I asked him why I should not sit, he again threatened me with dire consequences and demanded to know why I sat on the chair. He misbehaved and attacked me. Later, he asked students and class IV employees to wash the chair."

Devi said she believed the 'cleansing' was performed since she belonged to an SC community and the act amounted to a violation of her human rights. According to the complaint, Sharma also threatened Devi's husband, Shailendra Singh, who went to the school after hearing of the episode.

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