Mob Slid Down Ropes, Burnt Delhi School, Used It As Base For Attacks

As mobs went on the rampage in northeast Delhi earlier this week, a school in the Shiv Vihar locality became one of the targets as they vandalised it, burnt down furniture and books and then used it as a base to launch attacks in the locality for nearly 24 hours.

The attackers used ropes - hung from an adjacent building (also a school) - to enter the school premises, smashed blackboards, set school furniture and the library on fire on Monday afternoon, said Dharmesh Sharma, administrative head of Shiv Vihar's DRP Convent School, where about 1,000 children study. Photos show torn copies and textbooks lying on the ground.

The students, who had appeared for an exam on Monday, had left before the mob attack, Mr Sharma, who has been working with the school for 25 years, said. "The school kept burning for about 24 hours. Fire brigade never arrived. Apparently fire officials were also attacked. It took police three days to respond. They only reached here last evening," he told NDTV.

The school furniture of DRP Convent School was set on fire on Monday.

The school adjacent to the DRP Convent School - Rajdhani School - was reportedly attacked first. 

Two staffers of the school said they were locked down in the building for about 60 hours by the mob before they were rescued by police on Wednesday. Manoj, the school guard, and Rajkumar, who works as a driver, were locked down with their families. "They trapped us, thrashed us. They were going to beat the children. They left nothing to eat," said Manoj as he teared up while recalling the ordeal. About 1,300 students study in this school.

Photos show torn copies and textbooks lying on the ground.

"The school was attacked on Monday. They broke everything and set it on fire. We kept calling cops but they did not come," Faisal Farukh, owner of the Rajdhani School, told NDTV.

Shiv Vihar is one of the worst affected areas in northeast Delhi where violence over Citizenship (Amendement) Act or CAA that broke out on Sunday. At least 42 people have died, over 300 have been injured in the last five days.

Manoj, guard at the Rajdhani School at Shiv Vihar, was locked down for about 40 hours before he was rescued.

At least three schools have been targeted by mobs in different parts of northeast Dehi. On Tuesday, a senior secondary school in Brijpuri, where 3,000 children study, had been in flames for four hours before the firemen came. There were no students as they had left after exams.