93-year-old Bengaluru school's wall demolished without authorisation, three booked: Report

Assistant secretary of Smt Kamalabai Educational Institution— Anuradha K P claimed that the SKEI management had 'received a temporary injunction order from the High Court in 2023 against any claims to the property' — and alleged that this was the third such attempt by Elizabeth and her group to trespass the campus despite the court's order.

The Bengaluru city police have booked three people for demolishing the compound wall of the 93-year-old Smt Kamalabai Educational Institution (SKEI) located at the Queens Road on Friday evening.

A group of people arrived into the school premises forcefully, as per a report in the Indian Express. An FIR has been registered in the matter, which says that the group entered the school with a JCB demolished the school's compound wall along with the Connaught Road. The FIR lodged at the High Grounds police station said that the incident took place on July 5 at 4:30 pm.

The three persons have been identified as Maria Elizabeth, Mohammed Jabi and Zerard Stephan Harry. They have been booked under the new criminal law BNS Sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (damage to property), 329 (enter into property to intimidate), and 3. As per the FIR, Harry, Elizabeth, and Jabi broke into the school using a JCB and assaulted security officials Karthik and Murali and threatened to kill them.

What probe till now reveals?

The investigating police officials were quoted in the IE report as saying that the incident on Friday is the result of a 25-year-old property dispute between Elizabeth and the school management. A police official said, “Elizabeth claims that a portion of the school campus belongs to her while the school management always maintained that they purchased the 10 acre property from the municipal corporation. Elizabeth, whose great grandfather served in the defence, claims that the property was given to her by the government."

"Currently, the property dispute is under judicial review before the Karnataka High Court,” the cop added. Assistant secretary of the institution, Anuradha K P claimed that the SKEI management has "received a temporary injunction order from the High Court in 2023 against any claims to the property" — and alleged that this was the third such attempt by Elizabeth and her group to trespass the campus despite the court's order.

“The matter is sub-judice and we want to sort out the property dispute legally. A group of people have now occupied the performing arts building where students practice art, music and dance. With trespassers now occupying a portion of the school campus, the students will feel unsafe. Fortunately, students were not on campus on Friday as they were out on a field trip,” said Anuradha.

SKEI was founded in 1931 by by V S Thiruvendaswamy Mudaliar who wanted to build a “sacred place from which girls and boys shall take the highest aspirations to lead better, grander and fulfilling lives”.