By Matters India Reporter

Pune, July 6, 2023: A mob has attacked the principal of a private high school in the western Indian city of Pune.

The incident took place on July 4 when a group of parents, accompanied by the members Bajrang Dal, assaulted the principal of the D Y Patil High School for allegedly singing a school prayer with the phrase “Dear Lord.”

The school, established in 2002, is situated in Pune’s Talegaon Dabhade area.

The attack was captured by some school staff and it went viral forcing the police to intervene. The video shows the principal Alexander Coates Reid, a Christian, being chased by some 30 people who shouted “Har Har Mahadev.”

The newindianexpress.com reported that the mob attacked Reid and the police booked him for forcing the students to take part Christian prayers.

It also reported that several parents had complained about their children being forced to recite Christian prayer. They also said that the students were not given holidays for Hindu festivals.

Another allegation against Reid was that he had installed CCTV cameras inside the girls’ washrooms.

However, the wire.in portal quoted an official from the Talegaon police station to say that Reid was a “strict teacher” and a few parents were waiting to confront him. “They decided to make an issue out of a non-issue, involve local vigilante groups and attack the principal,” said Police Inspector Ranjit Sawant.

Sawant also said the attack was preplanned. The group had earlier approached the school against the installation of the CCTV camera in the passage outside the school toilet.

“This, the parents and the Hindutva activist twisted into something perverse. They claimed cameras have been set up inside the toilet. Which is untrue,” Sawant said. After the parents objected to the cameras, the school management agreed to remove them.

The news portal also reported that the group had problem with the prayer mentioned in the school calendar. Sawant says the prayer does not mention any specific religion. “It only mentions the words, ‘Dear Lord’,” Sawant said. The Hindutva group wanted that prayer removed from the school book and the management promised into the matter.

In the attack, Reid’s clothes were torn.

However, neither Reid nor the school management has complained to the police, Sawant said.

The mob visited the police station with a formal complaint after the attack.

“We have not converted their complaint into an FIR. On visiting the school, and looking at the evidence, it is clear that Ried was targeted because of his Christian identity. There is no evidence pointing to the allegation that he was involved in religious conversion or sexual harassment of girl children, as alleged in the complaint submitted to the police,” Sawant said.