Kerala: Education Department orders probe against gov't school for conducting late night puja

Visuals of the puja being conducted and the protest against it have gone viral on social media platforms and were released by local television channels

A government-aided lower primary school witnessed dramatic scenes in Kozhikode on Monday night, February 12, as its management performed a puja inside the classroom. Meanwhile, local residents, few of them said to be activists of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) , disrupted it, as per a report by PTI.

The incident took place at Nedumannur Lower Primary School near Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode, Kerala.

As the issue triggered a controversy, General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Tuesday, February 13, asked the Director of Public Instructions to submit an immediate report on the incident of conducting a puja inside the government-aided school.

Visuals of the puja being conducted and the protest against it have gone viral on social media platforms and were released by local television channels on Tuesday morning, February 13.

In the videos, a ‘homam’, a religious ritual, is seen being performed by a priest.

A few persons are seen surrounding the priest as the ritual progresses, while others are seen protesting and raising slogans.

Local people said they came to know about a puja being held there after finding vehicles parked on the school premises at night. A senior police officer said that the homam was held by the school management.

“Based on the information we received, we rushed to the spot and took some persons into custody. They were released later. No case has been registered so far,” he said.

Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the student and youth outfits of the ruling CPI(M), marched towards the school in protest on Tuesday, February 13, seeking action against its management, PTI added.

Kerala: Education Department orders probe against gov't school for conducting late night puja