THE High Court has ordered a judicial probe against the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and the executive magistrate of Bhandaria of Pirojpur for their humiliating treatment of a teacher. We are appalled to learn that representatives of the local administration can put a college teacher through such a traumatic experience, an assistant professor no less, who was on official duty at an HSC examination hall. The teacher as an invigilator was well within his rights to ask for the identity of any 'unfamiliar' person entering an examination hall. That the man was made to kneel down and apologise in the principal's office is an abuse of office in the worst possible manner.

That a simple matter like this can lead to such highhandedness, where a local administrator feels it necessary to call the UNO and ask for police backup, is unheard of. How is it that certain government officials feel they can put a teacher through such avoidable embarrassment by making him kneel and beg for forgiveness on a petty matter. We laud the High Court for ordering a probe into the matter and certainly hope the facts will be unraveled about why such discourteous behaviour was displayed. If such gross misuse of authority goes unchecked, it will hurt the image of the government.