The chilling murder of a Hindu student by a Muslim junior at the Seventh Day Adventist Higher Secondary School on 19th August has caused massive outrage across the city. Police have arrested the accused Muslim student and started an investigation into the incident.
As per reports, the Muslim student brutally stabbed the Hindu student in the school premises on the day of the incident. The victim succumbed to his injuries during medical treatment at night, the same day. This led to protests by the aggrieved family and members of the local Hindu community against the school administration.
The victim’s family accused the school administration of negligence. They alleged that the school authorities failed to take the injured student to the hospital in time after the incident, due to which his condition deteriorated and he succumbed to his injuries. The family further alleged that instead of taking the victim to the hospital, the school administration started cleaning the blood stains in the school premises with water. The police are also investigating to find out who cleaned the blood stains, which amounts to destruction of evidence and is an offence.
The school has a controversial past
The school has a controversial past. In 2016, the school was in the news after a teacher of the school mercilessly beat up a child studying in the 4th standard for merely talking to another student during an examination.
The teacher is said to have grabbed the child by the hair and brutally beaten him, and punched him in the face, due to which the child started bleeding. At that time too, protests were held in the school premises by the parents of the student.
After the pressure from the parents, the school administration was compelled to suspend the teacher named Moses Adla. It was alleged by locals that the teacher had previously beaten up four other students in a similar manner. A case was registered at Khokhara police station on the parents’ complaint, and action was taken against the responsible teacher.
The school was again embroiled in a controversy in October 2024, after the school administration took around 200 students on a trip without permission from the District Education Office. The trip was in clear violation of government rules. The District Education Office took cognisance of the incident and issued a legal notice to the school administration, and also complained to the police.
And now, after the murder of the Hindu student, the school administration is under the scanner once again. The grandfather of the deceased Hindu students has made some shocking revelations about the Muslim students studying in the school. He alleged that some Muslim students once brought mutton to the school and fed it to Hindu vegetarian students in the name of paneer. This also resulted in a huge uproar after the parents of the Hindu students and the locals came to know about it. It was alleged that the school authorities did not take any action in the matter.
Allegations against the school
After the murder of the Hindu student, the role of the school administration in the entire incident is being questioned. The victim’s grandfather told OpIndia that about two months before the incident, it was brought to the notice of the school administration that the victim was facing harassment by Muslim students. He added that the owner of the cab service in the school also revealed that there have been many incidents of Hindu students being attacked by Muslim students in the school. The cab service owner is also said to have recorded a video of one such incident, which he showed to the school authorities, but no action was taken. He also alleged that earlier Hindu students in the school were forced to change their religion to Christianity or Islam. His allegations of harassment of Hindu students by Muslim students were also corroborated by other parents and locals, who said that no action was taken by the school administration on complaints of harassment.
In addition to that, there are also allegations that the Moral Science syllabus in the school is designed to lure Hindu students to Christianity. The allegations also say that some people from the school administration offered to promote students to the next class without taking examinations in exchange for ₹2 lakh.
Who manages the school?
The school is run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church Organisation, which is a part of a global network. The headquarters of the organisation are located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. ‘Ashlock Trust’, which operates under the educational wing of the ‘Seventh Day Adventist Church Organisation’, operates the school. Globally, this organisation runs 7,804 schools, colleges and universities.
The rules of the school are governed by Christianity. Church rules are given priority in schools run by churches. The organisation that runs the Seventh Day school follows the ideology of the US-based church organisation. Globally, the ‘Seventh Day Adventist Church Organisation’ sets the rules for all schools, colleges and universities under it, which are then implemented by the educational institutions.
Who is the principal?
The principal of the Seventh Day Adventist High Secondary School, Ahmedabad, is ‘G. Emmanuel’. Parents have stated that before the murder incident, many incidents of violence and bullying were brought to his notice, but he allegedly never paid attention to them or took any action. The school is affiliated with the ‘Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination’ (CISCE). This is a non-governmental organisation which has been controlling the educational activities of the school since 1990. Notably, G. Emmanuel is also currently serving as the President of CISCE.
This Seventh Day School is affiliated with both CISCE and the Gujarat Board. The school website mentions G Emmanuel is the principal of the school as well as the Chairman of the CISCE. Citing this as a conflict of interest, locals and parents have said that the CISCE would not act on their complaints against the school as long as Emmanuel is its head. No official statement has so far been made by G Emmanuel on the incident. A police investigation is going on into the matter.
The original Gujarati version of this report can be read here.