The border region of Tripura’s Sepahijala district was gripped by tension on Friday and security forces were deployed after an attack on a student from the minority community.
The attackers, identified as “outsiders” belonging to a different community, assaulted Mohammad Illyas Sarkar, a 10th-grade student at a government-aided Higher Secondary School in the Bishalghar sub-division.
The attack took place after Mohammad Illyas Sarkar protested against the “outsiders” for preventing Muslim girl students from wearing hijab within the school premises.
Local law enforcement authorities stated that the incident prompted a rapid response from both the police and Fire and Emergency Service Personnel. They swiftly reached the school and successfully rescued the injured student, transferring him to a medical facility for treatment.
The incident triggered resentment among residents, leading to a road blockade protesting against the assault. Sepahijala district police took to Facebook to address the situation, emphasizing that they swiftly arrived at the scene to control the situation. They clarified that the incident was not connected to any religious conflict, contrary to certain circulating claims. The police urged the public to maintain calm, refrain from spreading rumours, and assured that strict actions would be taken against rumour-mongers.
Subsequently, a group of students expressed their dissent by ransacking the headmaster’s office, expressing their condemnation of the attack carried out by the outsiders.
Witnesses on the scene alleged that Mohammad Illyas Sarkar was dragged out of the school premises and subjected to physical assault. No teachers, including the headmaster, intervened to protect the student, locals alleged.
Priyatosh Nandi, the headmaster of Karaimura Higher Secondary School, revealed that a group of former students associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) approached him around a week ago. They expressed concerns about Muslim girl students wearing hijabs and urged him to enforce a ban on it, favouring a standard school uniform for all students. Nandi admitted his lack of awareness regarding the state government’s regulations on hijab-wearing within school premises.
Despite this, Muslim girls continued to attend school wearing hijabs, while some Hindu students attended school wearing saffron-coloured kurtas in solidarity with the protest on Thursday.
In a precautionary measure to defuse the escalating situation, classes were suspended on Friday. The presence of a substantial contingent of Central Reserve Police Force personnel was noticeable in and around the school premises.
Authorities are closely monitoring the ongoing developments and taking efforts to mediate the issue and restore peace in the district, which shares a border with Bangladesh.
Strong condemnation of the attack on the minority student came from various quarters. The main opposition party, CPI-M, denounced the assault and called for action against the VHP members involved. Local BJP MLA Sukanta Deb also expressed his condemnation of the incident. Deb said the miscreants who are trying to defame Bishalgarh will be taken up sternly.
This incident reminds a similar controversy that emerged in Karnataka last year when a college prohibited the wearing of hijabs within educational institutions. The matter sparked statewide debate and remains a subject of discussion, with a pending case related to the issue in the Supreme Court. (Edited)