GHS tussle: Now,school gate pulled down

While the administration has condemned the action,CNI Bishop (Lucknow) Morris E Dan said his supporters did not pull down the boundary wall.

According to the police,around 8 a.m.,a group of nearly 150-200 people,allegedly belonging to the CNI,reached the school and began pushing the main gate in a bid to forcibly enter the premises. “The group was not armed with any equipment. It appears that the main gate gave way under heavy pressure from the group,which kept trying to force its way in. As the gate collapsed,a portion of the boundary wall also came down,” said Circle Officer (zone-II),Ashutosh Mishra.

Subsequently,the group went to the principal’s office and allegedly broke open the locks,following which the newly-appointed principal took over.

The supporters of the other faction,represented by C V Innes,also clashed with the CNI group.

The situation was brought under control after senior administration and police officials,including the District Magistrate (Allahabad),Alok Kumar,and DIG/SSP (Allahabad),Ram Kumar,rushed to the spot.

DM Kumar said: “Such actions in a prestigious institution should be condemned. When the administration had asked them to be patient,they should have waited for the issue to be resolved. Breaking into the premises like this should certainly have been avoided.”

Bishop Dan maintained that his supporters did not pull down the boundary wall. He said there was no reason why the new management should be prevented from entering the premises that has been legally handed over to them.

“I am the chairman of the school. They (Innes group) have lost their case in the Supreme Court. What is their locus standi in preventing us from taking over? Nobody broke the locks of the principal’s office,we have all the keys to the schools,” said Bishop Dan.

He said it was the Innes group that had got armed men stationed inside the school. “They were the ones who ran out when we entered,” said Bishop Dan. He said it was all happening because Innes was an MLA.

On Wednesday night,unidentified men had hurled three bombs at the school’s main gate.

The controversy has been raging for the past three-and-a-half years when Innes got the by-laws of the Allahabad High School Society (AHSS),which manages BHS,GHS and Holy Trinity Schools,changed in a bid to extend his tenure.

He lost the case at all levels,including the Supreme Court. Attempts by the new dispensation of the AHSS,headed by the Bishop (Lucknow),has been met with stiff resistance from Innes.