High drama unfolded near the Indiranagar Cambridge School on Monday when parents of the victim and activists of different political outfits gathered in large numbers, demanding justice for the victim. In fact, the protest seemed to have been hijacked by the political outfits with the actual cause lost in sloganeering.
The police had put up barricades on both the ends of the road leading to the school to prevent protesters from damaging the school building. Many ABVP activists who gathered near the school raised slogans against the school, for about 30 minutes.
Later, the victim’s parents along with the parents of some other children who live in the vicinity reached the protest spot along with JD(S) supporters. They were soon joined by Dalit Sangharsh Samithi (DSS) activists.
Till afternoon, the workers of the political outfits kept the parents engaged in sloganeering forcing the police to be on their toes. The protesters even threatened that they would vandalise the residence of school’s chairman (who lives in the same area) if none from the management turned up at the spot. Meanwhile, the victim's parents and several others tried to block Jeevan Bima Nagar main road by sitting on a dharna.
Police had to forcibly ask the protesters to continue their protest near the school site and not block the road hampering traffic movement. Situation went out of hand for a few minutes when the mother of the victim fainted twice on the road. The police suggested the protesters to take the woman to a hospital, which however, went unheeded.
The police also offered them to be taken to the police commissioner’s office but they refused to budge. The protesters said that they had no problem with the police as they (police) were supporting their cause. However, protesters wanted the management members to come out and speak with them.
Shockingly, some of the political outfits ferried children from nearby schools for the protest. Some students of class 7, 8 and 9 of Indian Public School, Jeevan Bima Nagar, came to the protest venue site claiming that it was their lunch time and they wanted to show solidarity with the victim's parents.
Another couple of students of from Holy Cross School also came around the same time and briefly sat with the protesters demanding justice for the victim. When asked if they had permission from their respective schools to come out during the school hours, the students answered in affirmative and said that their school authorities knew about them coming here.
