Kolkata ragging case: Police forced principal to resign, alleges Archbishop

The police had turned a blind eye when the vandalism was going on at the missionary school following the death of an 11-year-old student on September 12, Archbishop Thomas D'Souza, head of the Roman Catholic Church of the Kolkata diocese, today alleged.

The Archbishop further stated, the police gave in to the pressure of the unruly mob to force the principal of the Christ Church Girls' High School, Helen Sarkar, to tender her resignation. D'Souza said that the West Bengal Association of Christian Schools would go ahead with their shutdown of all Christian schools in the state on September 19, which would also be observed as a Black Day, despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assurance that she would take necessary steps.

"When the incident was taking place, the police were present there, but had turned into mute spectators. The mob was forcing the principal to resign and the police instead of controlling the unruly mob gave in to the pressure of the mob and pressured Helen Sarkar to resign. This shouldn't have been the case," D'Souza observed.

D'Souza, who is also president of the West Bengal Association of Christian Schools, said that the association would submit a memorandum to Governor M K Narayanan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the incident. "The association also demands protection of life and property of all the Christian minorities, especially of all our educational institutions," he said.

He said that he appreciates CM's concern over the incident. "We had a telephonic conversation yesterday. But the fact is that the incident was horrible. The teachers in other Christian schools are also terrified over the incident. We are against shutdown or any kind of strike. But sometimes in order to send out a message and register our concerns we have decided to observe the strike on September 19.

Asked if the WBACS would recommend the withdrawal of Helen Sarkar's resignation, Moloy D' Costa, secretary of the organisation, said, "There is no question of accepting the resignation considering the circumstances under which she was forced to resign. We will recommend to the school governing body to withdraw her resignation."

The WBACS also expressed its displeasure at the reaction of the state education minister Bratya Basu over the incident. "The state education minister is the head of all the education institutions. We are not at all satisfied with his response," said D'Costa.

Asked when the school would reopen, Rev. Abir Ghosal, honorary secretary, Diocese of Calcutta, said," ....we want to open the school as early as possible, but we have to repair the school before that."

D'Souza said WBACS had set up an independent enquiry committee to find out the truth of allegations made about the incident.