The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : PUCL slams police for action against school students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004

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Other States - Rajasthan

PUCL slams police for action against school students

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, OCT. 25. The Rajasthan unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) today denounced "repressive'' measures taken by the police to crush an agitation launched by hundreds of students of a Government senior secondary school and their parents in protest against the Principal's transfer in Kuhadwas village of Jhunjhunu district recently.

The police resorted to lathi-charge, lobbed teargas shells and fired in the air to disperse a crowd of students and villagers staging a peaceful dharna on the interior Satnali-Singhana road near Kuhadwas on October 7. More than 20 villagers were injured in the incident and one of them sustained a bullet injury in his foot.

The villagers were protesting against the transfer of the school Principal, Ganga Ram, who had improved the academic atmosphere, created more facilities for students and enhanced the results during his 13-month tenure.

An all-time high number of 520 students, including 276 girls, were enrolled during the current academic session due to his special efforts.

Mr. Ganga Ram was transferred to Pacheri early this month as part of shifting of hundreds of teachers across the State. As soon as the news of his transfer spread, the students locked the school and took out a rally on October 5. The school continues to remain closed even now, with the villagers demanding cancellation of the transfer.

The PUCL State unit's general secretary, Kavita Srivastava, releasing a fact-finding report on the villagers' agitation and police firing here said the State Government had added a new chapter of repression by opening fire on the students agitating in favour of good educational standards and proper school management.

"Police can resort to firing only in the situation of grave threat to their life by a violent mob. No such situation existed in Kuhadwas,'' Ms. Srivastava pointed out. She said it was the duty of the police and administrative officials to first try to diffuse tension through a dialogue. They could have offered to take a delegation of villagers to meet higher authorities.

Mukh Ram, a former Sarpanch of Kuhadwas, said the decision to stage a dharna on the road was taken at a `mahapanchayat' of 27 villages -- benefiting from the school -- and its intimation had been given to the State Government through the Naib Tehsildar of Buhana. He said the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kashiram Solanki, ordered the police force to thrash the agitationists without any provocation.

When the villagers hurled stones on policemen, police took away several youngsters from the village and registered criminal cases against 26 persons.

Prohibitory orders were also clamped in an area extending to Buhana town situated 11 km away. Police also claimed that the firing was started by the demonstrators.

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PUCL slams police for action against school students