Quite disappointing
Navodaya students from UP, J&K on exchange programme sent back after ‘assault’, protest
The exchange of students between Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) of Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi and Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri as part of an integration programme came to an abrupt end months ahead of schedule when they were sent back to their parent schools on Friday after the visiting pupils were allegedly assaulted by residents of the host institute in the Union Territory.
The students from Jhansi, 20 in number, alleged that their counterparts at JNV, Kotranka, in Rajouri district assaulted some of them following a heated exchange. Following a charged atmosphere on the campus, the school management on Thursday decided to end the one-year programme and sent back all the guest students to Jhansi only after two months.
At JNV, Jhansi, the situation turned violent when students, on hearing of the alleged maltreatment of their schoolmates, staged a protest and allegedly tried to attack the 18 guest students of class 9 from J&K, a school staff member said.
The students from J&K were also sent back to their parent school on Friday morning.
On Thursday evening, the local students in Jhansi gheraoed the hostel where the visiting students were staying and raised slogans against them. However, the school staff arrived before the protesters could enter the hostel and shifted the J&K students to the staff room. The protesting students reached the staff room demanding that the visitors be handed over to them and allegedly resorted to stone pelting, the staff member added.
On being informed by the school authorities, a police team rushed to the spot and pacified the protesting students before sending them back to their hostels.
But the students resorted to protest again on Friday morning and sat on a dharna, alleging that the police used force the previous night to disperse them.
Circle Officer (Jhansi) Sneha Tiwari, however, denied the allegations of the use of force against students. When contacted, RP Tiwari, Principal, JNV, Jhansi, said, “The students ended their protest today after a team sent by the district administration assured them of necessary action. The students have been asked to submit a complaint that will be given to the District Magistrate for further action.” The students had not submitted any complaint so far, the Principal added.
The JNV, Jhansi, has a strength of around 500 students from class 6 to 12. “Keeping the situation in mind, we sent the J&K students back to Rajouri early Friday. We also asked our counterparts (at JNV, Rajouri) to send our students back. The J&K students were sent back in private vehicles under the supervision of the staff. The JNV Rajouri authorities have also sent our students by road with their staff. The students will be exchanged at a meeting point on the way,” the Principal said.
“The details of the Rajouri incident would be known only after our students reach here. We have come to know that one of our students got injured in the assault,” he said.
SK Jain, Principal, JNV, Kotranka (Rajouri), however, denied any assault on the guest students by their local counterparts. “There were heated exchanges between them after the students from Jhansi packed their bags and insisted on being sent back to Jhansi,” he added.
“In Kotranka, we wear woollens in the morning and evenings. The students from Jhansi had come unprepared for the cold weather here. Even their eating habits were different from local students. Unwilling to stay here for the full period, they had been non-cooperative from the very beginning,” Jain said, adding that they used to come late at the morning assembly, classes, and to the mess.
Jain said he has informed the authorities and constituted a committee to look into the matter and find out reasons as why the guest students from Jhansi insisted on returning to their native state. Kandi police station (Rajouri) in-charge Shakeel Manhas, however, said that they were not informed of any incident of violence at the school.
Arun Sharma – 2023-09-30 03:33