RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Sept12: Police have arrested four youths who allegedly threatened to kidnap and molest girls students of Project +2 High School in Ormanjhi police station area of the district on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, September 5.
Those arrested include Firdous Ansari, Sohail Ansari, Muzammil Ansari and Jameel Ansari. All are outsiders who had gone to the school campus on September 5 when the Teachers’ Day celebration was going on. They allegedly passed lewd remarks to girls and when the school clerk asked them to leave the campus, they left only to return with firearms. They allegedly pointed firearms at the clerk and used abusive language for him. They also threatened to kidnap the girls.
A police official informed this saying one more accused, Taufique Ansari, is wanted in this connection and an effort is on to arrest him.
The action was taken after school clerk Ashish Mahto lodged a complaint at Ormanjhi police station in the late evening of September 10 after the school management committee failed to sort out the matter with dialogue.
“The FIR was registered after the interference of local influential people did not yield any result and morale of trouble makers continued to remain high. After two rounds of meetings when the school management committee realized that those behind troublemakers are not ready to accept the blunder, the information was given to the police which expressed its inability to take any action without lodging an FIR. It was then when the school clerk registered an FIR,” a local resident said.
Superintendent of Police (rural), Naushad Alam, could not be contacted for his comment. Officer-in-charge of Ormanjhi police station, Rajeev Kumar, confirmed the breakthrough without sharing any details on the matter.
A local resident close to Ormanjhi Block Anjuman Committee said the arrest could be possible after Anjuman Committee interfered in the matter after it realized that an attempt was being made to give it a communal angle.
“Victims are Hindu girls and accused are Muslim. This coincidence has given the opportunity to decisive force to give communal colour to the matter. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the local Anjuman Committee asked the parents of the accused to surrender before the police. When they surrendered, police arrested them,” the resident close to the local Anjuman Committee said.
Contacted school principal S Kerketta to know how come she attempted the matter of molestation to sort out at her level, she expressed her inability to share anything saying she was “tired of telling the same story to many people” coming to the school campus.
School clerk Mahto confirmed the incident saying it left everyone on the school campus fearful and there was no option other than informing the police about the matter.
Meanwhile, the BJP has taken cognizance of the matter. BJP state president Deepak Prakash visited the school and took stock of the situation. During his visit, local residents also demanded action against the school principal for attempting to suppress the matter and delaying FIR in the matter.
