VASCO: Principal of Keshav Smriti Higher Secondary School, Dabolim, Shankar Gaonkar was on Monday placed under suspension by the school management for allegedly taking students to the mosque visit and for asking girl students to wear ‘hijab’.
It is reportedly learnt that the students had placed a duppata on their heads which is also a part of the uniform.
It is learnt that the students were invited by the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) to the mosque visit on Saturday, as a community programme.
Taking exceptions to the community programme and the permission granted by the principal, some agitated parents along with the members of various Hindu groups including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal staged a protest infront of the HSS after photographs of girl students in ‘hijab’ went viral on social media.
It is learnt that the principal took the students to the nearby mosque following a letter received from the SIO Vasco unit. But girls were seen wearing traditional Muslim ‘hijab’ and the boys seen performing ‘Wuzu’, a ritual of washing ones face, hands, arms and feet with the intent of cleansing oneself before entering the mosque, which annoyed their parents.
Condemning the incident, the VHP leaders demanded immediate suspension of the principal. What annoyed them was how Hindu girls were allowed in the mosque which forbids the entry of women.
The VHP sought to know how the school authorities allowed students to visit the mosque based on a request of the SIO that too without conducting proper enquiries.
On the other hand, Keshav Smriti School chairman Pandurang Korgaonkar claimed that the school management was unaware of the students performing rituals during the visit to the mosque.
He said that the HSS Principal Shankar Goankar has been placed under suspension till further notice. Also the teachers who were part of the visit will be issued memos, he informed. According to him, the principal took the students to the mosque with an intention to have inter-religious communal harmony.
