Sarpanch, 5 others booked for using Gurugram students in protest

Police said that the sarpanch and other protesting villagers made at least 35-40 students to block the road

At least six people, including the sarpanch of Tajnagar village in Farrukhnagar, were booked for allegedly blocking Farrukhnagar-Jamalpur road by using students of the primary section of a local government school to protest against continuous waterlogging and damaged street, police officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

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Police said that the sarpanch and other protesting villagers made at least 35-40 students to block the road near the school at 9.15am on Thursday. The agitators also used tires and bamboos to block the stretch.

Investigators said that the villagers alleged that they have written to the authorities several times urging them to repair the road so that at least students could reach school safely. However, no action was taken, following which they decided to rope in children to protest. Traffic movement on the stretch remained blocked for almost an hour.

Investigators said that the protesting villagers alleged that children are forced to reach school every day after wading through roads inundated with water from overflowing drains and supply pipes.

Shivtaj Singh, the village sarpanch, said that parents of the students were also present with them in the protest. “We have been continuously writing to the authorities urging them to repair the road and construct a drainage system to resolve the issues. But no steps have been taken yet, which forced us to block the road,” Singh said.

A school teacher who declined to be named said that the students of the primary section reached after 10.30am on Thursday while the classes started from 9.30am.

“Every day, three to four students fall in puddles and potholes, forcing them to return home to change uniforms. On Friday, our peon fell off his motorcycle,” she said.

Inspector Anil Kumar, station house officer of the Farrukhnagar police station, said that officials intervened to pacify the villagers, following which they cleared the road and the students left for school.

“But we have registered a first information report (FIR) against the sarpanch and the other villagers for blocking the road under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) of Indian Penal Code on Thursday,” he said.

Reacting to the FIR, the sarpanch said, “I will explore all possible legal options to deal with it.”