Bihar School Notebooks Has Pakistani Girl's Photo It, Govt Has Ordered Probe Into The Matter

Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has ordered a probe into the use of a picture of a Pakistani girl drawing her national flag on the cover of schoolchildren¡¯s notebooks to promote government initiatives like ¡®Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao¡¯ and ¡®Swachh Jamui, Swasth Jamui¡¯.

The initiatives are aimed at promoting girl¡¯s education as well as creating awareness about the importance of cleanliness. The notebooks were distributed free among students of several government schools in the district in Jamui district.

¡°The CM on Saturday asked Jamui DM Dharmendra Kumar to probe the goof-up and submit a report,¡± an official said in Patna on Saturday.

Jamui District Rural Development Authority director R N Chaudhary told TOI over the phone that the DM had formed a probe committee and asked it to submit its report within a week. ¡°A Patna firm, Suprabh Enterprises, had been tasked with printing the notebooks,¡± Chaudhary said.

DM Kumar said the district water and sanitation committee (DWSC) was responsible for devising ways and means to promote such government initiatives. It was the DWSC which got the notebooks printed.

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¡°The work order was given in December last year. At least 5,000 notebooks were printed. Of them, 200 and odd notebooks were distributed among children,¡± the DM said and added the undistributed copies were recalled after the matter came to light.

The DM has called for all the files related to the matter.

¡°My officers have informed me that the printer used the picture without their approval,¡± Kumar said and added the printer has also been called to give his version at a meeting slated to be held at the Jamui collectorate on Monday.

The girl¡¯s photograph is available on the portals of humanitarian organisations involved in promoting issues like girl¡¯s education.