The DY Patil School in Pune has come under the radar after members of the Bajrang Dal, VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad), accompanied by several parents and students reached the institution with two complaints: the installation of a CCTV camera in the washroom area for girls studying in Classes 8-12 and alleged recital of Christian prayer in the school but not of other faiths.
The group entered the school on July 4. A few minutes later, as shown in a video verified by the police, the group was seen chasing down the principal Alexander Coates Reid, who was running on the school campus with his clothes torn. In the video which went viral, the attackers could be heard shouting 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Reid and the school administration did not approach the police with a complaint until late Thursday, Inspector Ranjit Sawant, in charge of Talegaon MIDC police station said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the incident is disgraceful and no decent Hindu behaves like this. "This is disgraceful. What gives Bajrang Dal the right to take violent action with such impunity? And how dare they claim to be defending Hinduism? No decent Hindu behaves like this. #NotInMyName," Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
Another complaint of the parents was that the school did not give holidays on Hindu festivals. "We are looking into the allegations levelled by the parents and an investigation is going on," Talegaon MIDC police inspector Ranjit Sawant said, as reported by PTI.
