Shaheen Urdu Primary School in north Karnataka’s Bidar was at the centre of a national discourse in late January after it staged a controversial play criticising the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. The play, which authorities found seditious, had led to the arrest of a teacher and a parent, and the repeated police questioning of scores of students aged 9-12, triggering a political storm.
The minority institution, against which the sedition case was filed, has now been turned into a government quarantine facility in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state. According to reports, the district administration in Bidar reached out to the chairman of Shaheen Group of Institutions Dr Abdul Qadir earlier this week to request that their premises be allotted to quarantine people who had been identified primary contacts of COVID-19 patients.
Thousaeef Madikeri, CEO of Shaheen Group, told an online news portal that about 193 people, including women and children, are presently quarantined in their main branch. “They were moved here after some residents kicked up a fuss over the quarantine facility being in their area, exposing them to risk,” he said.
Thouseef said the institution is providing food, snacks and masks to the people under quarantine. He said the institutions had already handed over the buses and other vehicles owned by the institution to the authorities a fortnight ago.
The school was put under media focus after a parent shared the controversial three-minute play on social media, prompting the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to file a police complaint. According to reports, police had visited the school at least five times to question teachers, parents and students.