Hathras District Magistrate Archana Verma on Friday denied the allegations that namaz was offered by students at a school, reported PTI.
On Wednesday, the principal and two teachers of BLS International School in Hathras city were suspended after Hindutva supremacists led protests by a group of parents alleging that the students were forced to offer namaz.
Even though the school management denied the allegations, it suspened principal Sonia McPherson and teachers, Irfan Ilahi and Kanwar Rizwan.
Karnika Srivastava, the vice principal of the school told reporters, that a special Assembly session was held on April 18 to celebrate World Heritage Day and Eid.
“At the event, the song Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua [composed by Muhammad Iqbal] was performed...I want to clearly say that namaz was not offered and nobody was pressurised to perform.”
On Friday, Verma said that the students were performing for an all-faith event in which the participants enacted the roles of the followers of different religions, reported PTI. She added that a two-member team has been formed to investigate the incident.
“The inquiry team headed by the sub-divisional magistrate [urban] has been asked to submit its report in five days, the district magistrate told the news agency. “The district administration would try to circulate the video of the event for everyone to see the truth.”
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