The Blessed Mother Teresa English medium School of Kannepalli village in Mancherial district, which was in the spotlight last week for being vandalized by an alleged Hindu mob, was also booked for wantonly provoking people in a way that would lead to a riot (IPC S.153) and for deliberate and malicious intention of outraging religious feelings (S. 295A). The mob of attackers was booked under 10 charges, including 295A, promoting enmity between groups, and rioting.
A fact-finding mission by four Hyderabad-based social activists, who visited the incident site recently, has exposed more details of the incident.
“The mob forcibly applied tilak on the school manager, a clergyman, and made him wear a saffron stole and a mala, took him to the terrace and made him apologise on the microphone, and chant Jai Shri Ram,” the report by activists Khalida Parveen, S. Q. Masood, Sarah Mathews and Kaneez Fathima read.
The incident unfolded on April 15, when a few students who were observing a 41-day Hanuman deeksha came to the school in saffron attire. The school principal had asked the boys to get permission to wear it and the school was soon attacked by an angry mob of 300 people who were quickly mobilised by messages over WhatsApp, the fact-finding team said.
It was alleged that the “students were forced to remove their saffron attire and not allowed to write the exams.” The school management proved that the said students had written the exam.
It was found that the school which has been in operation for the past 15 years majorly served Hindu children in the locality. Out of a total of 1,033 students, there were only 28 Christian and 33 Muslim students in the school.
The fact-finding team also noted that the main accused was the parent of one of the two students, who studied on a concession and who had been suspended last year for unruly behaviour.
The activists group demanded a fair investigation, withdrawing the FIR against the school based on evidence, and setting up ‘national integration councils’ at the State, district and mandal-level education centres to promote harmony and peaceful co-existence.
