School girls set on fire construction material in the encroached area; (R) Surrounding a police jeep on Tuesda... Read More

AJMER: Girl students of a government secondary school in Bhilwara 's Shambhugarh village on Tuesday, with some help from the nearby boys' school, set on fire the construction material on the illegally encroached area near the main gate of their school. They had been complaining about the encroachment to authorities since long.

The students also jammed the main road and staged a protest outside the local police station. Locals also joined them in the cause. Fearing violence, police closed the main door of the station and asked district control room for help.

Shambhugarh is a small village in Asind block of the district. It was around six months ago that villagers found the school's main gate space encroached upon for setting up of shops. "We went to the panchayat only to find that the panchayat itself had allotted the land for the shops ," said Sumeer Kumawat, a resident of the village.

Panchayat allotted land illegally

Later, the villagers went to the district collector and lodged a complaint. After inquiry it was found that the panchayat had allottedtheland illegally. Despite allthis, theencroachment was not removed, and on Monday the encroachers began the construction of shops.

On Tuesday, when the students saw the construction happening, they locked their school main gate and went to nearby boys’ school and asked for their help. Together, they set ablazeconstruction material. “That is our school and no one has the right to encroach upon it,” said Sushila Jat of ClassIX.

A police team later reached the spot and requested the students to clear the blockade. Instead, the girl students surrounded the police jeep and shouted slogans. Police had to fire in the air todispersethem.

Sub-divisional officer Dinesh Dhakar reached the village and spoke tothe protesters and assuredsuitable action.

