Teachers abused and threatened; a police force has been deployed at the school in Palakkad
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Three individuals, reportedly associated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), were arrested for allegedly threatening teachers at a government school in Kerala’s Palakkad during Christmas celebrations.
Several charges including spreading religious hatred were pressed against them following a complaint filed by the school headmistress Jayanthi.
The incident took place on Friday at the Nallepilly Government Upper Primary School, where students and teachers were engaged in festive activities. According to the headmistress, a group of individuals disrupted the event, raising objections to the celebration of Christmas without similar recognition of the Hindu festival of Sri Krishna Jayanti.
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“We were all celebrating Xmas with children singing songs inside the campus. There were also a few church members present. Suddenly we heard some people shouting slogans and gatecrashing the compound. Initially, the security officials stopped them, but they continued chanting slogans against Xmas celebrations and questioned us on why there were no Sri Krishna Jayanthi celebrations held on the campus,” media reports on Monday quoted Jayanthi as saying.
She added that the disturbance left teachers and students shaken. Police have since been deployed at the school to ensure safety.
The Chittoor police detained the accused – K Anilkumar, V Susasanan, and K Velayudhan – on Saturday. They face charges of disrupting public servants, spreading religious hatred, and threatening teachers in front of students.
According to a complaint filed by the school authorities, the trio allegedly disrupted the school’s Christmas celebrations, questioning teachers and students about their attire for the Christmas carol and verbally abusing the teachers in front of the students.
The accused were presented in court and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Authorities have assured the school of continued security measures to prevent further untoward incidents.