The lower primary school at Mawnohsynrum, around 50 km from here, was torched by unidentified miscreants in the wee hours of Sunday. [break]
The incident took place at a time when attacks on the community, as a fallout of the Langpih incident where four Khasi villagers were killed in "indiscriminate firing" by Assam Police, started to die out as Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday said the situation is normal now.
While the incident came as a body blow to the administration, people in the sleepy village -- both Nepalis and Khasis -- were also shocked. The seven Nepali families in the village have been living in harmony for the last several decades.
Ri-Bhoi district had witnessed another violent incident on May 17 when a 70-year-old Nepali cowherd, Loknath Bastola, and his three cows were burnt alive at Umiam.
The Assam-type building of the school, established in 1960, was built in 1970. No articles inside the school including desks, benches, blackboards and various documents could be saved from the devastation.
"It appears to be the handwork of vested interest criminals to create confusion in the minds of people," a police official said.
Altogether 83 students are studying in the Nepali-medium LP school that had five classrooms.
Interestingly, as many as 35 Khasi children are among the 83 students who learnt their lessons either in Nepali or Hindi.
"The Khasis and the Nepalis here have been living in harmony and there was not a single instance of quarrel among them," Balari Kharpuri, a young girl and a former student of the school said.
The miscreants first scaled the small wall of the school complex and proceeded to the wooden lower primary school and poured either kerosene or petrol to torch the building, according to the preliminary police investigation.
"I was shocked to see the building up in flames at around 2.30 am. Though I cried for help, but there were few to rush to the site to douse the fire in the middle of the night," Aristar Ryngkhang, the village headman, said.
"The entire building was mostly made of wood and the roof was of aluminum sheet, causing the fire to spread fast and finished every bit of the old school in no time," he said.
"We do not know who are behind the violence, but we are concerned over the matter and are ready to provide any assistance," the headman said.
Significantly, it was just a couple of days ago when security personnel deployed in the village in the wake of the Langpih backlash were removed as normalcy appeared to be back in the State.
According to the villagers, the miscreants may have taken advantage of the laxity of security in the village.
The headmaster of the school, Punya Subedi who is staying in a nearby village, said he came to know about the incident at around 3 am after the headman sent a messenger to him.
"The whole building was gutted by fire and nothing was left. We are worried about the students," he lamented.
Subedi said the school managing committee will meet to discuss how to accommodate the LP school students.
There are altogether 186 students and seven teachers in the upper and lower primary sections of the school which caters to at least five villages of the area.
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