The gates of Vivekananda Mission School with the closure notice. Picture by Tamaghna Banerjee

A private school in Joka, with more than 3,000 students on its rolls, was “closed down indefinitely” on Wednesday after a few Group D employees and local Trinamul Congress leaders allegedly heckled teachers and did not allow the nursery section to function.

The bone of contention is a Trinamul-backed union of the 25 Group D employees of Vivekananda Mission School which the management has refused to recognise.

Principal Keya Sinha said: “The school has been closed down indefinitely as I can’t take the risk of keeping it open after what happened today.”

The Vivekananda Mission School Non-teaching Employees Union was formed on May 25.

The next day the members wrote to the management seeking recognition and raising a series of demands, including confirmation of their service and a declaration that appointment of all non-teaching employees must be routed through them.

The management refused to recognise the union on the ground that it was backed by a political party and also because there has been no association on the 25-year-old campus.

On May 15, some members and Trinamul leaders held a demonstration in front of the nursery section, close to the campus for senior students. Four Group D employees joined the protest and were subsequently suspended.

Around 7.15am on Tuesday, a 50-strong group comprising mostly outsiders and Trinamul leaders gathered in front of the nursery section, allegedly prevented the children from getting in, assaulted the four employees who had replaced the suspended ones and heckled a few women teachers.

The management called Sarsuna police station and a team arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control.

The cops requested the authorities to talk to the Trinamul leaders but the principal shot down the proposal. “Why should I talk to leaders of a party?” asked Sinha.

Shyama Das Roy, a vice-president of the union but not a school employee, said: “Group D employees are not being paid regularly and their genuine demands are being ignored.” The management denied the charge.