An air of anxiety and fear prevails in the campus of prestigious Welham Girls' school located in the Dalanwala area here. A letter which claimed to be written by the Indian Mujahidin (IM) threatened to unleash unprecedented mayhem in the school campus seems to have instilled fear in the minds of students, parents, teachers and school authorities.
The school boasts of a very high repute in the country as the students from all parts of the country and abroad study here. The school was founded exclusively for girls in 1957 by lady HS Oliphant at a sprawling campus in the property belonging to an erstwhile Nawab. On March 28, a person delivered the threatening letter to one of the school guards. The letter was addressed to the Principal, who immediately informed the police and district administration authorities about it.
The police immediately swung into action and deployed adequate security in the campus. To allay fears, the Principal of the school Jyotsna Brar sent an e-mail to all the parents. In her letter, Brar explained the events and the actions taken by the school. In the mail, she said that the letter in all probability is an empty threat to garner publicity, but the school is taking it very seriously. The Principal appealed for calm and said the school would continue with all its activities and the staff would remain in the campus. However, as an added safety measure, she said that the parents are free to take their wards home for some days if they wished.
On Tuesday, this correspondent saw some parents taking their wards home. One such lady from ludhiyana (Punjab) said that she has full faith in the security system put in place by the school, but she is taking her two daughters home for added safety.