Assault on Bijnor school campus: 2 held, student detained; studies resume under police protection

According the school, the assault was a fallout of a scuffle between two students.

School vice-principal Narotham Singh said a class XI student had confronted a class IX student earlier on Monday for allegedly teasing his sister, also a class IX student. Staff pulled the two boys apart and send them off to their respective classrooms.

The class IX student later went to the school office and requested the staff to allow him to call his parents and inform them that he wasn’t feeling well.

“A few minutes later, around 10 men with sticks arrived on motorcycles. Two of them were carrying firearms too. They forced their way into the campus and began thrashing students in the main hall. They also hit the class XI students. When I intervened, they assaulted me and other staff also,” said vice-principal Narotham Singh, adding several student hid below their desks. “Soon, female staff also reached the class XI room. The intruders abused them as well. A few minutes later, they left the campus with the class IX student who had called them.”

The police were called later and an FIR was lodged against the class IX boy and three others identified as Gaurav, Kulveer and Vikit under various sections of the IPC, including criminal intimidation.

DIG (Moradabad) Om Kar Singh said that the boy was detained and Gaurav and Vikit were arrested.

“On Tuesday, I held a meeting with school staff and assured them that they would be safe and action would be taken against accused. Following this, school reopened on Wednesday. Of the 1,200 students, just 300 turned up today. I will begin drive where school staff would approach family of students and convince them to send their child,” said Dr Birbal Singh.

“An inquiry has been ordered against the student and on basis of its outcome, action would be taken. I have provided CCTV footage to the police for help in investigation.”

In July this year, former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Yakub Qureshi’s daughter Najma along with around a dozen people had allegedly barg into a school in Meerut and had assaulted students with sticks and a whip. They had also allegedly roughed up school authorities when they tried to intervene. She was apparently livid as the students had complained about her daughter having bunked class.