A clash with bombs between two suspected Trinamul groups 300 metres away created panic in a Birbhum school yesterday, prompting the authorities to cancel a unit test as more than half of the students failed to turn up.
The students of Classes VII, IX and X were supposed to write their tests in the school in Labhpur yesterday. While some braved the clash to attend the school, most could not step out of home.
"Some of the students cycled or ran to the school building even as bombs exploded outside occasionally. We had closed the iron gates of the school but stood on watch. When we saw any student running or cycling towards the school, we opened the gates fast and got him in. It was horrific," a teacher of the school said.
The teacher in charge, Jwaharlal Das, said they waited till 11.30am for the students to turn up.
"After that, I called up the sub-inspector of schools and took his permission to cancel the unit tests. We have decided to hold the exams later," Das said.
Das asked the students to go home around noon when the clash stopped for around an hour. About 800 students were supposed to appear for the tests.
Danrka High School is located between Darbarpur and Mirbandh villages, where the clash between the two groups started around 9 in the morning.
Sabina Yasmin, a Class VII student from Mirbandh, cycled for a kilometre to the school as bombs exploded in the background.
"I heard the explosions but did not turn back as we had our unit test today. I was scared but managed to reach the school even as bombs were being hurled at a field about 300 metres away. After entering the classroom, the teachers asked us to close the doors and sit inside quietly. The exam was cancelled as many students could not leave home.
"Around noon, the clash stopped temporarily and the teacher in charge asked us to go home carefully. The police had started to patrol the area by then. We left the school one by one," said Sabina.
The teachers said they were fortunate that no bombs had exploded inside the compound of the school.
"When the students came in, bombs were being hurled at a field about 300 metres from the school. Around 11.30am, the clash shifted nearer to the school and several bombs exploded outside the boundary wall. The police arrived a little later and chased the warring groups with batons. The clash stopped temporarily," Das said.
Das and other teachers of the school went to Labhpur town to meet the sub-inspector of schools, Sariful Islam, and explained the situation to him.
"We held a meeting and decided to postpone the unit tests for the time being. We will hold the tests only after the situation becomes normal," Islam said.
[Via: Telegraph]
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