In dangerous trend, Ludhiana students flaunt swanky cars, party on roads to mark school farewells

To make matters worse, videos of these rallies are uploaded on social media platforms like Instagram with songs glorifying weapons and openly challenging the police. In a bid to compete with other private schools, the youngsters also list the luxury vehicles that were part of their rally.

The students lean out from the windows, dance through the sunroofs, click selfies, and brazenly flout traffic rules, putting their lives at stake. (Screengrab/Instagram) 

The lyrics in one such video go thus: “Oh lammi gaddiyan di line ton tou judge kar layi, ni vich mantri ni baitha tera yaar houga… ho jehde kamma nu police hundi ban kardi, ohi kamm saade kolon vaar vaar houga.. ho ikk bullet proof vich gaddi hougi, oh jehdi asley de naal full laddi hougi.. (You can judge from the long cavalcade of high-end vehicles, not a minister but your friend will be sitting inside. We do such acts again and again which are banned by the police. There will be a bulletproof vehicle in the cavalcade which would be loaded with weapons).”

Recently, videos of car rallies by students, purportedly from Guru Nanak Public School (GNPS), Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM), Greenland Public School, and others went viral. Despite the reckless trend, the Ludhiana police have not been able to do much, and neither the schools nor the parents have been contacted yet by the authorities for counseling or to prevent such rallies in future.

The viral videos have invited many comments from city residents who have sought action against the parents for providing the vehicles to their underage children, while questioning where Punjab’s youths were headed.

Despite the reckless trend spreading, with several such rallies held recently, the Ludhiana police have not been able to do much. (Screengrab/Instagram)

Speaking to The Indian Express, a former student of Green Land Public Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar Bypass, said, “Ours was probably the first such farewell rally which we had organised last year just for fun. Students from other schools followed suit after seeing our videos. Vehicles including Thar, Audi, MG Hector, etc, were part of it. It is just a way to show that we live in Ludhiana where it is common to have such luxury vehicles. We never meant to break any rules.”

Putting the onus on parents and the police to stop such activities, principals said they were not responsible for what students did outside the school premises and that parents were carelessly handing over vehicles to their minor children.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a former student of Green Land Public Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar Bypass, said, “Ours was probably the first such farewell rally which we had organised last year just for fun. Students from other schools followed suit after seeing our videos.” (Screengrab/Instagram)

Gurbhej Singh Nagi, principal of GNPS, Sarabha Nagar, said, “Our school simply does not endorse such rallies. The onus completely lies on parents. The police should immediately impound the vehicles which are part of such rallies. Seeing the videos, each car was worth at least Rs 30 lakh. Who is responsible for this, if not parents?”

“We were never aware of any such rally by our students until we saw the videos. Not just our school, but students from other schools were also a part of it as they all meet at tuitions and coaching centres and become friends. We had an official farewell party in the school premises which included a cultural programme, but parties outside the school are being held in high-end clubs and pubs. We are counseling parents via WhatsApp groups, but it is only through them that children are getting money to organise such lavish farewells,” Nagi said.

A P Sharma, principal of Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM), said there is no way school authorities can know of such rallies in advance as students gather at a distant location. “This trend has been widely noticed this year, and we will communicate to parents to not indulge in this practice. Who will be responsible if any accident happens ahead of their final board exams? And these rallies are not of any particular school. Children from all schools mingle at private coaching centres. The schools cannot be blamed,” said Sharma.

Baldeep Pandher, principal of Green Land Public Senior Secondary School, said she was not in a position to comment on the issue. “Only the school management can say anything on this,” she said.

Meanwhile, DCP (Traffic-Ludhiana) Varinder Singh Brar said he had “initiated strict action” after seeing the videos. “We are writing to all schools instructing them to ensure no such rally is organised. We have also put messages on our official social media handles that parents should not give vehicles to children,” he said, adding that 3,169 challans were issued last year by the Ludhiana traffic police for underage driving. Only 21 such challans have been issued this year as of February 7.

Express Impact: Ludhiana DC directs police, edu dept to take immediate action

Ludhiana deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney Monday directed the police commissioner and the district education officer to take immediate action.

The DC’s order came a day after The Indian Express reported the matter.

In the notice issued to the Ludhiana police commissioner, Sawhney wrote that “after reading the Express report and seeing related videos on social media, it seems that road safety rules were not being followed in the city”. Hence, the children who violated rules should be allotted “community service duties” and made to attend “traffic rules classes” so that they do not repeat such acts.

Sawhney has also sought an action taken report in the matter from the police commissioner.

In another notice issued to the Ludhiana district education officer (DEO, secondary), she has directed that schools whose students were involved in the car rallies should “immediately be identified and notices be issued to them”.

The DC further ordered the DEO to immediately issue orders to all schools in the district that “no such car rally should be organised in future”.