Madhya Pradesh: Uproar in school over ‘religious change’ in Vidisha; rioting case registered
Highlight
- Activists of right-wing organizations allegedly created ruckus, ransacked a school in Vidisha
- Police have registered a case of rioting against unknown people
- Witnesses said that during the uproar, the school building was also pelted with stones.
Activists of right-wing organizations allegedly created a ruckus and vandalized a missionary school and claimed conversion of eight students in a town in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district on Monday, a charge denied by the educational institution, police said.
Following the incident, police registered a case of rioting against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the premises of St Joseph’s School in Ganjbasoda, about 48 km from the district headquarters. has done. Bharat Bhushan Sharma said.
He said that the accused are being identified and further legal steps will be taken accordingly. Sharma said the school property has been damaged. Eyewitnesses said that the school building was also pelted with stones during the uproar. However, state Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office-bearer Nilesh Agrawal told PTI that they only staged a peaceful protest outside the school and later submitted a memorandum to the local administration, denying any role of the organization in the unrest at the institute. . ,
“We have nothing to do with the alleged uproar as our protest was peaceful after informing the local administration. Many organizations have been protesting against religious conversion for the past one week and are demanding an inquiry. Poor students brought from other states are being converted,” alleged Agarwal.
He said these organizations were demanding a probe into the alleged conversion.
In a memorandum submitted to the local administration after the protest, the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagran Manch and other right-wing organizations accused the school management of converting eight students to Christianity.
In the memorandum, these organizations accused the school management and its affiliated church of forcing students not to apply ’tilak’ (a colored mark) on the forehead and wear ‘kalava’ (sacred thread worn by Hindus on the wrist) .
It was also alleged that the students were forced to offer prayers to the Christian faith. In a letter to the district collector on Sunday, St Joseph’s Church denied all allegations of conversion and claimed that the rituals performed on eight Christian children were like ‘Janeu Sanskar’ in Hinduism (wearing white, sacred thread). Related) ) October 30.
The church also demanded an inquiry to find out the truth. In the letter, the church accused some local YouTube channels of spreading false news of conversion and creating communal tension and demanded punitive action against them.
On the other hand, the principal of the school, in a separate letter to the SDOP, sought security for the staff members and students, saying that the examination is being conducted at present. The principal’s letter also states that the photographs circulated in the media of the alleged conversion are not of the school premises.
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