Miscreants attack priests in Meghalaya church, flee with cash
Tura (Meghalaya), Jan 30 : Two senior priests in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district sustained injuries when a group of masked men attacked them inside a church early Wednesday, ransacked the premises and escaped with over Rs 1 lakh in cash, a senior police officer said.
This was the fourth such instance of dacoity in Garo Hills churches in the past one month, and police suspect it to be the handiwork of one and the same gang, he said.
"Around 1am, the unidentified goons, around 20 in number, entered Dominic Savio Mission here during a power cut, tied up Rev Fr Thomas John and Daniel M Sangma, and attacked them with iron rods.
"They then ransacked the church and fled with Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and two smartphones," Superintendent of Police MGR Kumar said.
An FIR has been filed in the case and a team of officers are investigating into the matter, he said.
"According to the FIR filed by the authorities of the Dominic Savio Mission, John Mathias M Marak, another parish priest, sounded alarm when he saw the miscreants. Soon after, they fled the church," Kumar said.
The SP also maintained that the modus operandi of the four recent attacks in the Garo Hills region looks "very similar".
"Three cases of dacoity have been earlier reported from Dawagre in East Garo Hills, Chokpot in South Garo Hills and Dalu in the west. We are very close to a breakthrough, and, hopefully, the miscreants will be arrested soon," he added.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
