Jalandhar, January 19
Five half-built classrooms of Government Model Senior Secondary School, which was set up in the high security PAP Complex during the height of militancy for ensuring security of the wards of police personnel, have been razed to the ground by the PAP authorities. The PAP has also allegedly debarred the school staff from entering the complex after they raised objections to the development.
Stunned over the incident, the Principal, teachers and other staff of the school, who have not been able to know the reason for the razing as no senior PAP official was available, had to sit in protest in front of the complex for hours today.
The gun-wielding PAP officials deployed at the main gate also allegedly manhandled some press photographers who had gone to click the demolished rooms last night.
Government Model Senior Secondary School, having 800 students on its rolls and a strength of 80 teaching and non-teaching staff, was set up by the government in 1989 to ensure safety of wards of policemen in the wake of increasing militant attacks. The school has 22 classrooms, including a science laboratory, library, Principal’s office, NCC room. Five rooms were left incomplete for paucity of funds. These rooms were removed by the PAP authorities last night, allegedly without informing the school authorities.
The school Principal, Ms Raksha Rani, and other staff were informed about the incident by the school chowkidar at about 6 a.m. today.
Meanwhile, the Government Teachers Union Punjab has alleged that the PAP authorities wanted to “usurp” the school premises and make commercial use of it. “They want to deprive 800 poor students of the school as they have set up another private school inside the complex,” alleged Mr Kulwant Singh Gill, general secretary of the union.
He said the union was trying to get an FIR registered against the PAP authorities.
Sanjiv Toni and Munish, press photographers of local dailies, were also allegedly beaten up and put in illegal confinement for two hours by the PAP jawans when they tried to click photographs.
The photographers were released only after irked teachers and photographers blocked the traffic on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana main road for half an hour and when the Jalandhar cantonment police authorities intervened and persuaded the PAP jawans to release the photographers.
Even as most of senior PAP officials were “not available” for comment, Mr J.P. Virdi, Inspector-General, PAP, maintained that he was not aware of the incident as he was in Chandigarh. “I will come and see to the development after reaching Jalandhar in the evening,” he said.
