Hundreds of schoolchildren were caught in an unpleasant situation at Sanjauli, a sub-town in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district where communal tension prevailed over a mosque as protesters and police came face to face on Wednesday.
Residents, including parents and guardians of the students, criticised the local administration for allowing educational institutes to remain open despite probationary orders barring the gathering of five or more people. They were seen rushing to schools to collect their wards amid growing tension.
“My seven-year-old son Anuj usually comes home from school on his own with his friends. But today, I received a message from his school urging me to pick him up because of the tension in the area. I didn’t waste a moment and rushed to the school. On my way, I encountered huge barricades, where slogans were being shouted. The area was only cleared after police resorted to lathicharge,” said Santosh Devi, a resident of Engine Ghar Ward in Sanjauli.
Manoj Sharma from Dhingu Dhar in Sanjauli said, “The administration should have kept educational institutions closed today. It was negligence on their part. The safety of children was put in jeopardy. The officers lack foresight. This tension will not subside in just a day or two.”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
