Wayanad school tour row: UDF leaders release visuals of principal, PTA chief at Hyderabad bar

Kalpetta: The controversy over alleged alcohol consumption during an educational tour organised by the Government Higher Secondary School, Meenangadi took a fresh turn on Thursday, with a section of PTA members and Congress-led UDF leaders producing what they claimed was evidence of PTA president Hijas Ulladan and Principal Shivi Krishnan consuming liquor at a bar in Hyderabad.

The leaders released CCTV footage purportedly showing the two entering and leaving the Bombay Bar Hotel in Hyderabad. They also produced bills allegedly paid using the PTA president's ATM-cum-debit card.

Interestingly, the issue has now taken a distinctly political turn, with the press conference being convened by K E Vinayan, former Meenangadi panchayat president and Congress leader, along with other local UDF leaders.

The controversy erupted after a group of parents and local residents intercepted a tourist bus at the school entrance and staged a protest, demanding action against the PTA president and Principal Shivi Krishnan. Their allegations were based on video footage and accounts reportedly given by students who had participated in the five-day educational tour.

Shivi Krishnan was transferred to GHSS, Vaduvanchal, on Saturday, while steps were also initiated to remove the PTA president. A section of students subsequently boycotted classes, demanding the withdrawal of the principal's transfer order. The Kerala Administrative Tribunal, however, stayed the transfer order issued by the Higher Secondary Directorate under the Department of General Education on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the organisers presented CCTV footage purportedly showing the PTA president and the principal entering and leaving the Bombay Bar Hotel. They also shared bills which, they claimed, had been settled using the PTA president's ATM-cum-debit card.

Vinayan alleged that the duo had visited the bar to consume liquor and claimed that the bills substantiated the allegation.

The UDF leaders further alleged that students who had initially raised complaints against the PTA president and the principal were being targeted and silenced by LDF cyber attackers. The students had been forced to change their initial statements due to the pressure, Vinayan claimed.

The UDF leadership also submitted a complaint to District Superintendent of Police S. Devamanohar on Thursday, seeking action against those allegedly threatening and cyberbullying the students. The complaint accused CPM workers of targeting the students both online and offline for speaking out against the alcohol consumption of responsible persons during the students' tour to Hyderabad. 

"Strict action should be initiated against those who persecuted the students, both online and offline, only because they raised their voices against an illegal practice," Vinayan said.

He also said the UDF would extend all support to the PTA office-bearers and others who had spoken out against the PTA president and the principal. The UDF leadership is all set to approach the Child Rights Commission to ensure justice for the students. 

When contacted, Principal Shivi Krishnan declined to comment on the allegations, saying that the truth would prevail. He told Onmanorama that he was on a two-day leave due to some family issues and would return to school on Monday.

"I am neither interested in vitiating anybody's image nor in making allegations against anyone," he said.