Activists vandalise school Christmas setup, damage shop decorations

Nalbari: Activists of a fringe outfit vandalised Christmas celebrations in a school and damaged festival items at shops in Nalbari district of Assam, police said.

A police official said some members of the fringe outfit staged a protest against the celebration of Christmas in Nalbari town.

“The activists entered the St Mary’s School of Panigaon village and vandalised the preparation of the Christmas Day programme. They burnt down the banner and posters of the celebration,” he added.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal (VHPBD) activists raised ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and warned the school authorities not to hold Christmas on the school premises on Thursday, the official said.

“They then went to various shops selling Christmas goods in Nalbari town and set fire to some items in front of the shops near the Jain Mandir in the town,” the officer said.

They also entered several shopping malls and business establishments selling Christmas items and burnt down the goods.

“We don’t want Christian festivals here. Trade in any festival-related items of Indian origin. But we do not accept doing business with a festival of non-Indian origin,” VHPBD Nalbari District Secretary Bhaskar Deka told reporters here.

The police official said no FIR has been registered as nobody has filed any complaint so far.