In the Damoh hijab controversy case, an FIR has been registered by the State against the administrators of the Ganga Jamuna school who has been accused of mandating Islamic prayers and practices on Hindu and Jain students. The FIR has been filed under sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the India Penal Code and also under the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
As per the information obtained by OpIndia, the FIR was registered by the state administration after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra issued orders to take action against the controversial school. “Preliminary case has been filed by the police against the school. However, more sections are slated to be added in the case,” Rakesh Kumar, SP Damoh confirmed as could be heard in the video.
#Breaking: FIR registered against the administrators of Ganga Jamna School, Damoh under sections of 295 & 506 IPC with JJ Act.
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) June 7, 2023
These are nominal charges as the administration ignored conversion issue & distorted map of the country, @NCPCR_ to issue notice said @KanoongoPriyank pic.twitter.com/adrQ581v2M
Reportedly, this comes a day after the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo exposed that a distorted map of India was being used by the chairperson of the school. In a tweet on June 7, Kanoongo revealed that the chairperson of the school owns several other enterprises where he has used a distorted map of India in the logo representing his business.
“In Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, the investigation is going on in the case of Hindu children made to wear hijab and given Islamic education amidst attempts to convert, this is its logo, in which half of India has disappeared. Not only this, the same map is being used as a logo in all other business organisations of its owner. This type of tampering with the map of our sovereign nation India by the educational institution will not be tolerated at all. @NCPCR_ has taken it very seriously, and necessary instructions are being sent to the Madhya Pradesh government for FIR,” Kanoongo said as he shared the controversial pictures on Twitter.
दमोह,मध्यप्रदेश में जिस स्कूल में हिंदू बच्चों को हिजाब पहनाने व इस्लामिक शिक्षा दिए जाने तथा धर्मांतरण का प्रयास किए जाने के मामले में जाँच चल रही है यह उसका प्रतीक चिन्ह (लोगो) है जिसमें भारत के नक़्शे के साथ छेड़छाड़ करके आधा भारत ही ग़ायब कर दिया गया है।
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) June 7, 2023
यही नहीं इसके मालिक… pic.twitter.com/FYt0kwL9T9
The NCPCR head also added that during the investigation, the students confirmed that they were forced to follow Islamic religious practices and wear hijab at the school. Further, the students were being taught the wrong geographical map of India at the school. The Commission said that this is a violation of the National Map Policy, 2005. The commission has summoned the District Magistrate, Collector Damoh, and SP Damoh in the matter and has sought action in the case.
Earlier, School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar had confirmed that Damoh Collector Mayank Agarwal was trying to save the District Education Officer (DEO) SK Mishra who is found guilty as per the prima facie information obtained. The Minister also confirmed that the state government would take action against the DEO and remove him from his post for giving clean chit to the school.
“Prima facie information that is coming out is that the District Education Officer (DEO) has given wrong information, that is why the DEO is guilty. He is supposed to visit the school continuously and inspect it, but that didn’t happen. Later, when the incident came to light through the press and social organizations, even then the DEO tried to give a clean chit,” Parmar was quoted as saying.
Further, slamming Damoh Collector Mayank Agarwal over the issue, the Minister stated that timely action should have been taken by the collector because the matter is not only about the school, it is about spreading malice in society.
The controversy in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, erupted when Hindu and Jain girls were seen wearing hijabs on the posters of meritorious students from a private school named Ganga Jamuna School. The school administrator Haji Mohammad Idris then tried to mislead the matter calming that the students were wearing scarves and not hijabs. The DM also dismissed the assertions after a probe, claiming that they were simply rumours and that there was nothing untoward discovered during the initial enquiries.
During the investigation, the SCPCR found that Ayats and lessons from the Quran were imprinted on every wall of the school. Every girl student was made to wear a hijab and they had been taught to greet the teachers with ‘Assalam Walikum..’ and not Good Morning.
The students at the school were also asked to recite three Islamic prayers followed by the National Anthem during the assembly every day. The prayer included ‘Lab pe aati hai dua..’ by Allama Muhammad Iqbal who had advocated the formation of a separate nation for Muslims in the form of Pakistan in 1930.
Some of the girl students came forward on this matter and confirmed on record that they were forced to wear hijab and also offer Namaz on Fridays. The girls also said that they were banned from wearing Kalava on their hands and Bindi on their foreheads. It was also reported earlier, that around 3 teachers (2 Hindus and 1 Jain) were converted to Islam post their appointment as school staff.
Damoh School Controversy: Listen to this minor girl making shocking revelations about the forced Islamic practices followed in the school.
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) June 6, 2023
Apart from the Hijab & Islamic teachings, the SCPCR teams found as many as 3 teachers (1 Jain & 2 Hindus) were converted post appointment: pic.twitter.com/QDLZd10p5i
In the given scenario, an FIR has been filed under sections 295 and 506 of the India Penal Code and also under the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. More sections in the case are yet to be invoked. Investigations are underway.
