The mob damaged iron benches and shattered classroom windows as policemen watched the dance of destruction silently
Team Clarion
BHOPAL – A mob of Hindutva men barged into and ransacked a school in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Tuesday. The unruly mob accused the principal of the school of uploading a post on social media against the Hindu deity Lord Ram.
Akhilesh Mewan, the principal at Joy School in Jabalpur, faced the wrath of the Hindutva groups for his WhatsApp post which allegedly made insulting remarks against the Hindu religion and demanded an apology from the school authorities.
A viral video of the vandalism at the school shows Hindutva men damaging iron benches and shattering classroom windows as policemen present there watched the dance of destruction silently. Some of the cops mustered enough courage to deter the rampaging men but were duly overpowered and pushed aside. School staff could also be seen arguing with the mob while the vandals shouted Hindu slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
The police said that the mob also came with mud-filled bags and threw them inside the school campus.
“They arrived with mud-filled bags, which they threw inside the school premises despite the presence of police and school staff. The protesters also smeared black paint on the school walls to express their outrage,” a police officer was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
The officer further said “We are yet to register an FIR. A technical investigation is underway to ascertain whether the principal did indeed upload the post and was not some AI image. The principal will be questioned soon. We have deployed additional force here to maintain peace.”
The mob demanded an apology from the school director, threatening a larger agitation if the police failed to take action. They were at the school for around three hours, dispersing only after police assured them that action would be taken.
According to the Times of India, the post put out by the principal was in response to the assault on members of the minority community over the allegation of religious conversion. On Monday, Hindutva groups intercepted two busses and alleged that the tribals were being lured to convert. The names and addresses of all the passengers were registered at the Ranjhe police station. The groups also attacked passengers in the presence of the police.
