A major crisis was averted in West Bengal’s Malda district after a gun-wielding man barged into a high school on Wednesday. He was overpowered by police, who stopped him and subsequently arrested him, officials said.
Panic gripped the students of Muchia Anchal Chandra Mohan High School at Old Malda in Malda after the unidentified man, brandishing the gun, entered their classroom and started yelling at the students, threatening to kill them, according to police officials.
"The man managed to enter the school and barge into the room where Class-8 students were seated. He was holding a gun and shouting at the students, allegedly threatening to kill them and the class teacher," an officer told PTI.
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Anxious guardians rushed to the school and made a beeline outside the educational institution, even as classes were suspended following the incident, police said.
The person was immediately overpowered by police personnel and arrested, the officer said, adding, the pistol, two bottles containing some liquid and a knife were seized from his possession.
He claimed to have acted in this way because his son and wife have been missing for a year, and he wanted to exert pressure on the administration to take note of it.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lauded the police for disarming and arresting the man timely, thereby averting a school hostage situation.
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However, the chief minister alleged that the entire matter may have been a plot. "Case of man brandishing gun at Malda school may not be act of lunacy," the chief minister said at a press conference at the state secretariat.
Meanwhile, academician Nrisinga Prasad Bhaduri said it was a "freak" incident and does not reflect the trend in society.
"Such incidents do not usually happen. It was the handiwork of a person who is under serious mental stress. Investigations are on and the accused has been arrested. We are relieved that all students, teachers and others in that school are safe," Bhaduri said.
Bengal Primary Teachers' Association General Secretary Ananda Handa demanded adequate security measures at schools.
"It sent shivers down my spine. How did an outsider enter the school building with firearms unnoticed? There are no Group C and D staffers in many primary and upper primary schools in districts...Malda incident shows the glaring loopholes in security for children and staffers in schools," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
