Staff present at the spot were seen in the video trying to break up the fight but looking amused.
Highlights
- The two teachers are angling for job of principal at school in Adapur
- The two teachers have been fighting for three months
- The two got into heated argument over who is more senior
The race for the principal's post between two teachers in a Bihar town turned into a physical brawl on camera, with the video racking up hits online.
Visuals of two men punching each other at a state education department office in Motihari, around 150 km from state capital Patna, have gone viral.
One of the men is a teacher, Shivshankar Giri, who is tackled to the ground by the husband of his rival Rinki Kumari.
Reports say Shivshankar Giri and Rinki Kumari are both angling for the job of principal at a primary school in Adapur. The two teachers have been fighting for three months, according to the staff at the education office.
The two reportedly got into a heated argument over who is more senior and better qualified for the job.
Months of tension boiled over yesterday, sources say, when the district education department ordered both Shivshankar Giri and Rinki Kumari to furnish documents of their education and qualifications within three days.
According to reports, a fight broke out between the two teachers over who would submit the documents first. It started with abuses, then lapsed into a physical clash; Rinki Kumari's husband was seen in visuals tackling Mr Giri to the ground and holding him in a headlock, also known as a "guillotine choke".
Staff present at the spot were seen in the video trying to break up the fight but looking amused.
Block Education Officer Hariom Singh, who reportedly witnessed the bout, claimed he was not aware of the trigger. "We are investigating what happened," Mr Singh said.
The spectacle of teachers in a public brawl once again spotlights the state of education in Bihar, where examinations have often been clouded by allegations of open and brazen cheating.