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An armed man barged into a classroom of Muchia Anchal Chandra Mohan High School (Senior Secondary) in Old Malda area of the district on Wednesday, but was arrested after the police overpowered him. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee praised the police for averting the crisis. At the time of the incident, she was holding an administrative meeting in Kolkata. If the police had not acted on time, it could have been like the incidents of frequent shootings in educational institutions of America.
A senior police officer said that panic broke out among the students of Muchia Anchal Chandramohan High School when an unidentified person entered the classroom with a pistol and started shouting. Around 35 to 40 children, including girls, were present in the class at that time. Police said: The man managed to enter the school and reached the room where class VIII students were sitting. He was shouting at the students with a pistol and was allegedly threatening to kill them. He also allegedly had two petrol bombs with him.
Class teacher Pratibha Mahanta said a man who looked like the children’s guardian entered her classroom and brandished a pistol and asked her to sit in a corner. Mahant said that the person asked the students to sit quietly. According to Pratibha Mahant, the armed man then began threatening to kill the students and complained that the administration was not doing enough to find his missing wife and child. The armed man claimed that his child is a student of Muchia Anchal Chandra Mohan High School (Senior Secondary).
Mahant told reporters
While the armed man was shouting, I somehow managed to escape and alerted the other teachers. The police officer told that the person said that if someone shoots him, he will fire. He told that the accused has been identified as a person named Raju Vallabh. Policemen and some people immediately overpowered the man and he was arrested. A pistol and two bottles containing liquids and a knife were seized from the possession of the accused.
According to the police, the accused wearing spectacles claimed that he carried out the incident because his son and wife were missing for a year and through this incident he wanted to put pressure on the administration. The armed man waved a piece of paper complaining that various authorities, including the state secretariat, had ignored complaints about the missing wife and child. However, the neighbors of the accused, who is around 40 years old, told that he lives separately from his wife and his son also lives with his wife. Distressed parents reached the school after the accident, however, classes were suspended after the incident. About one thousand children study in the school.
Malda Superintendent of Police Pradeep Yadav told reporters
The situation is now under control. We are probing why and how the person entered the school and how he managed to enter the classroom. On the other hand, Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has termed the incident as serious. Ms. Banerjee said that waving a gun in a Malda school cannot be mere madness. Expressing the apprehension of conspiracy behind this incident, the Chief Minister has said that the plan was to collectively take the children hostage. He said that they entered the school with guns to take the children hostage, but the police, teachers and journalists showed great understanding.
The plot was cleverly foiled. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister praised the police, journalists and school teachers by holding a press conference. However, at the same time he raised the question that how did the gunman enter the school premises without an identity card? The Chief Minister said that he has sought detailed information about the entire incident. The police is investigating the matter. But at the same time, the Chief Minister advised to be more careful, so that such incidents do not happen again. She will ask the school committee to arrange for two gatekeepers in the school. If needed, they can also take the help of the police.
No one will be allowed to enter the school without the identity card. However, the people of the village are simple and may have allowed them to enter thinking that they were guardians. But this era is the era of cybercrime. So be alert. BJP’s state unit spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya criticized the state police over the incident and compared the averted hostage crisis to shooting incidents in the US. Samik Bhattacharya said, ‘This incident shows the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Such incidents are quite common in Europe and America. We have never seen such incidents here.
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