MP school uniform row: Three BJP workers booked for throwing ink on official

Police have registered a case against three BJP functionaries after they allegedly threw ink on the district education officer (DEO) of Damoh in Madhya Pradesh while accusing him of favouring a private school following a row over headscarf being part of its uniform, an official said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon when DEO SK Mishra's vehicle was moving out of the office campus.

Also Read: 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' row: BJP forms fact-finding panel

BJP's Damoh district vice president Amit Bajaj had claimed responsibility for the ink attack. The incident was condemned by Madhya Pradesh BJP unit president VD Sharma. The state education department last week suspended the recognition of Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School following a controversy over a poster showing girls, including Hindu students, wearing headscarves that looked like hijab as part of the uniform.

A couple of students of the school alleged that Hindu students were being forced to wear hijabs and offer namaz in the school. Initially, the DEO had given a clean chit to the school, but the district collector later constituted a probe committee on the directives of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. After throwing ink on the DEO, Bajaj alleged Mishra had tried to suppress the issue though he was aware of illegal activities in the school.

Following the incident, district BJP chief Pritam Singh Lodhi issued a show cause notice to Bajaj, local functionary Monti Raikwar, and another leader for their involvement. Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Singh on Wednesday said following a complaint filed by DEO Mishra, a case has been registered against Amit Bajaj, Monty Raikwar and Sandeep Sharma for obstructing the government official from performing duties and assault with intent to insult the person.

Reacting to the incident, Mishra said Bajaj is a contractor and his bill regarding the maintenance work of a school was pending due to delayed deposit and funds meant for the maintenance work had lapsed, which angered him. Mishra also said he did not conduct any inquiry into the school issue and had nothing to do with it directly as alleged.