Outsiders, students ransack school over false rumours

Police promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC after some outsiders and some school students ransacked the school's property and damaged vehicles of police and BDO at Kashipur High School in Rezinagar in Murshidabad on Saturday afternoon.

The incident took place within three days after the West Bengal Maintenance of Public order (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to impose fine on those who will damage government and private property was passed in the Assembly. The police have not arrested anybody yet and are even refusing to admit that their vehicle was damaged. This is for the first time when trouble began over Sabuj Sathi, one of the most successful projects of the state government. Local people alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to malign Mamata Banerjee government's Sabuj Sathi project which has earned immense popularity among the students and their parents.

The trouble began on Saturday afternoon when a meeting was being held between the school authorities, police officers and parents over distribution of cycles under Sabuj Sathi project. Some outsiders along with some school students suddenly entered and started to damage the police jeep and the car of the Block Development Officer ( BDO) that were parked inside the school premises. The windscreens of both the vehicles were smashed.

The attackers ransacked two rooms of the school and before anyone could trace them, left the premises. A large contingent of police arrived on the scene. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC was promulgated and a police picket has been posted to maintain peace. Local people said that for the past few days, a rumour was being spread that the state government would not give cycles to the students.

The whispering campaign caused unrest among students who felt that they would be left out. From Friday evening, another rumour spread that cycles would be distributed from Saturday morning and the list the school authorities had prepared was faulty. The school authorities called a meeting of the guardians and the police to discuss from when cycles would be distributed. The state government has decided to distribute cycles from April 1 onwards.

The Backward Classes Welfare Department (BCW) will float an e tender shortly. It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over and again has said that some people were spreading rumours just to malign the good work carried on by her government and she has asked people not to get swayed by the rumour to destabilise society.