Ashutosh Ranka, co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and several party volunteers were reportedly attacked on Friday. They were en route to assess the condition of a dilapidated government school located in the Bagru assembly constituency of Jaipur. The incident raises concerns about political accountability and safety for those involved in civic oversight.
The incident occurred near Rampura Kanwarpura village, where Ranka and his team planned to visit a government school to assess its infrastructure and facilities. HT could not independently verify Ranka’s allegation regarding the political affiliation of the attackers. The CJP team had planned to visit two government schools in Jaipur, one at Rampura Kanwarpura and the other at Bhatta Wala on Vatika Road.
One of the volunteers suffered a fractured arm in the attack, Ranka said. “They attacked us and fractured the arm of one of our volunteers,” he said, alleging that those involved were workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said the CJP will continue visiting government schools despite the state education department’s directions regulating the entry of outsiders into school premises. Education minister Madan Dilawar subsequently clarified that there was no blanket ban on media entry into government schools, but said permission was required before interviewing, photographing or filming students, particularly minors.
