School principal attacked for doing survey of madrasa in Ahmedabad; two arrested

Ahmedabad: The principal of a government school was thrashed by a group of people when he went to survey a madrasa in Ahmedabad on Saturday, police said.

The police have arrested two men after a case was registered against five to seven persons for unlawful assembly, rioting and voluntarily causing hurt, robbery and criminal intimidation, a police official said.

Sandeep Patel, principal of Shruti Higher Secondary School, went to the madrasa in the Dariyapur locality of the city to collect details, including the number of students there and about its infrastructure, as part of a government exercise, the official said.

Finding the premises closed, he began taking photos of it from outside. Just then, a group of people approached him and demanded to know what he was doing.

Despite explaining to the group that he was a school principal and taking the pictures as per a government order, they thrashed him and snatched away his mobile phone and documents.

The group also threatened to kill him, Patel said in his complaint, adding that he somehow escaped from the spot.

“We have arrested two persons in this connection. Further investigation is underway,” the Dariyapur police station official said.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) education committee officer Labdhir Desai said several such premises were surveyed as per the government order.

“We conducted a survey on 175 madrasas and each team consisted of two members. We received support during the exercise,” he said.