West Bengal: 1 killed, 14 injured after clashes between students, police in North Dinajpur school

(Reported by Pooja Mehta)

At least one student was killed and 14 others were injured when a mob clashed with the police over the entry of newly-appointed Urdu teachers in a school in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district on Thursday, police said.

The students the Darivit High School in Islampur were agitating against the newly recruited teacher for Urdu subject, demanding teachers’ recruitment for other subjects. The agitation had begun since Monday but on Thursday when the students prevented the new teacher from entering the school, police escorted the teacher.

Immediately, the students clashed with the police. They allegedly pelted stones at the police.

In retaliation, the police reportedly fired tear gas shells and resorted to a lathi-charge. This clash resulted in the death of one student, whose identity is yet to be ascertained.

“Policemen attacked us, there were no women constables on the campus. They abused us and manhandled us. What were we doing that they had to resort to a lathi-charge? We were just protesting against something,” said a student of Darivit High School.

On the other hand, Shankar Chakraborty, BJP district president said that police should not have resorted to a lathi-charge on students on campus. “What was the police doing on campus? Even if the students were agitating, there are ways to deal with the situation. What they did was not right. You can never enter campus and attack students,” said Chakraborty.

Meanwhile, the parents of the deceased student had rushed to the Islampur hospital. The others injured in the incident are undergoing treatment.