Hindutva terrorists in Pune beat up principal because of Christian prayer in school

India: The principal of a school in Maharashtra’s Pune district was beaten up by Hindutva terrorists who claimed that students had been asked to sing a Christian prayer.

A video shared widely on social media shows Alexander Coates Reid, the principal of the DY Patil High School in Pune’s Talegaon Dabhade town, being chased by a mob shouting “Har Har Mahadev”.

Reid is seen in a torn shirt as he runs up the stairs of a building. A person in the mob then assaults him but is stopped by the others.

Police Inspector Ranjit Sawant of the Talegaon MIDC area said that a few parents, accompanied by a group belonging to a Hindutva outfit, assaulted Reid and tore his clothes.

They claimed that the students were asked to sing a Christian prayer every morning. “It is a common prayer that starts with ‘Oh Lord’,” Ranjit Sawant said. “The parents said it is a verse from the Bible. But there is nothing in the prayer that hints at conversion or anything from the Bible.”

A school official who declined to be identified told the media that the incident occurred on Tuesday when a group of nearly 100 men stormed into the school.

They tore the principal’s clothes “and made false accusations”, this person said.

He added: “The teachers and all students are in full support of the principal.”