Mangalore: 'Attack on St Theresa's School was Well Planned'
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (PS)
Mangalore, Oct 23: The PTA members and staff of St Theresa's School in Bendore have urged for quick police action after the school was targetted by miscreants on the early hours of Sunday October 23.
Addressing a press meet here the same evening at 4.30 pm, former vice-president of the PTA Linette Fernandes said, "We are deeply pained by the incident. For sure, there is a hand of some group in this." She added that though complaints had been made to the police regarding the attacks on the school on earlier occasions, no action was taken.
"But this time they have gone too far, and their motto was desecrating the St Theresa statue. We strongly condemn the act and demand immediate police action," she said.
She further said that the Benthany Education Society, which runs the school, has more than 100 institutions across India, and has never discriminated in terms of caste or creed.
St Theresa's School in Bendore, which was set up in 1997 and offers ICSE education, has around 1,300 students and 60 staff, and they are from all communities, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian, she said.
On the miscreants, she said that it was a well-planned act of vandalism, as the culprits came in bikes without number plates so as to avoid being identified. Moreover, they threw bricks and not ordinary stones at the statue and the window panes, she added.
She reiterated that the school enjoys good rapport with parents, other institutions and the public in general, and there is no reason for anyone to target it. "The incident has shocked us all," Linette added.
When asked if the school has planned to stage any protest, she said that at present there was no such plan, but if the police fails to take action, a protest would be launched.
Gretta Rebello, corporator, Sr Rose Serine, secretary, Bethany Education Society and chairperson of PTA, Rose Saldanha, PTA vice-president, and Gulshan, PTA executive member were present.