Bajrang Dal Mob attacked Madhya Pradesh's School, Students Barely Escaped

Mobs threw stones at the school, students demanded a re-test

Workers of the right-wing group Bajrang Dal, along with hundreds of locals, were seen barging into a school in Madhya Pradesh and throwing stones at the building on Monday, claiming religious conversion of students by the Christian Missionary institution.

The violence broke when the Class 12 students were appearing for mathematics exams for Term-1 in St. Joseph School in Ganj Basoda town of Vidisha district.

Members of the Bajrang Dal barged the gates of St. Joseph as the school allegedly converted eight students into Christianity on Social Media. Mobile phone footage captured a crowd outside the building, raising slogans against the school administration. The local police were trying to disperse the crowd. Students and the school staff present had a narrow escape.

Due to the violence that broke out, the students who had appeared in the Maths exam demanded "retest." The mobs were breaking windows and glasses while throwing stones. One of them said: "Our concentration was broken; we want the exam to be held again".

According to the Manager of the School, Brother Antony claimed that he received the information of the attack a day earlier through local media, after which he alerted the police and the state administration. Mr Antony lashed out at the police for not making proper security arrangements. The manager also denied the claims of religious conversion. He claimed that none of the names mentioned in the complaint matches with any of the students.

The leader of the right-wing Nilesh Agrawal (leader of the local Bajrang Dal unit) demanded a thorough probe into the alleged religious conversion. The leader said, "If the school's involvement is found, it should be bulldozed."

Necessary security arrangements have been done after the incident.

Police ensured the public to take action against those responsible for the vandalism. A probe has begun into the alleged religious conversion and the school management will be questioned, said Roshan Rai, the Sub-Divisional magistrate. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had earlier written to the Vidisha district collector, seeking a probe into the allegations against the school.