Bajrang Dal activists held for vandalising missionary school in MP alleging religious conversion of eight students

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh police on Tuesday arrested five persons allegedly involved in vandalising a missionary school in Vidisha district, alleging religious conversion of eight students.

On Monday, Bajrang Dal workers along with hundreds of locals barged into the St. Joseph school in Ganj Basoda town, nearly 100 km from the state capital Bhopal.

Alleging that the eight Hindu students of the school were converted to Christianity on October 30, the mob pelted stones and created ruckus.

During the ensuing violence, several Class 12 students were writing their exams in the school. The violence created a panic situation among the students, however, none were reported to be injured.

Earlier, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had issued a notice to Vidisha District Collector, seeking a probe into the allegations.

The manager of the school, Brother Antony, has claimed that he received the information of the attack on Monday through local media, after which he alerted the police and the state administration.

Nilesh Agrawal, the leader of the local Bajrang Dal unit, demanded a thorough probe into the alleged religious conversion.

"If the school's involvement is found, it should be bulldozed," he said.

Security arrangements were made at other missionary schools in the area after the incident.

The police said action will be taken against those responsible for the vandalism.