A missionary school in Kannepally village, Telangana’s Mancherial district, became the target of vandalism and violence after a video was shared that the school had prohibited Hindu students from wearing religious garments. A complaint has been filed by parents of the students who alleged that they weren’t allowed to wear what they wanted, which resulted in police registering a case against two school staff members, including the principal, under the Section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 295 (A) (outraging the religious feelings of citizens).
As per a report, officials told the media that the principal Jaimon Joseph saw some students wearing saffron clothes to school two days back. He asked them about this and they told that they were following Hanuman Deeksha, which is a 21-day ritual.
The principal reportedly requested the students to bring their parents to school to discuss the matter further. However, following this, a video was uploaded by one of the students which accused the principal and a priest of denying Hindu students the right to wear religious dress. It was circulated on social media and sparked a wave of hate messages against the school.
Furthermore, hundreds of people reportedly gathered at the school and vandalised the school property, including breaking windows, damaging flower pots, and pelting stones at a statue of St. Mother Teresa at the main gates. Father Jaimon Joseph was also physically attacked by the mob and the mob reportedly applied a tilak on his forehead forcibly.
The police have booked a case against a school correspondent and principal for allegedly objecting to some students coming to the institution wearing ‘Hanuman Deeksha dress’ in #Mancherial‘s #Kannepalli village about 250 km from #Hyderabad, #Telangana.
According to #Dandepally… pic.twitter.com/gZ5ocKriKC
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) April 17, 2024
As per a report by Telangana Today, the mob calmed down and left only after the Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Kumar and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ravi Kumar assured them of action. Following the incident, the Dandepalli Mandal Education Officer issued a show-cause notice to the school management regarding the alleged refusal to permit students to enter the institute.
The school authorities have disputed the allegations that Hindu students were prohibited from wearing religious attire. They have since filed a complaint with the local police. Despite this, the police have taken action against the school management and have registered a case against them for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
This is not the first attack to take place against Christian property in the state. Earlier on February 21st, a cemetery named St. John’s Cemetery in Secunderabad was desecrated and graves belonging to the Christian community were vandalised.
Meanwhile, the state’s capital saw notorious BJP MLA T Raja Singh was seen making another provocative speech in Hyderabad during a Ram Navmi procession where he stated that over 40,000 mosques will be converted to temples, “Abhi toh 40,000 Hindu mandir baaki hain.”
Related:
Telangana: Christian cemetery attacked a week after Dalit Churchgoers were attacked
Eve of Ram temple inauguration sees “clashes”, planting of saffron flag atop Church