Attacking Gurgaon school bus is terrorism: Twitter users react sharply

18 people were arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody for attacking a school bus in Gurgaon on January 24. These people were part of a protest against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhanshali's film Padmaavat. Despite the timely arrests being made, social media was up in arms, raising a vital question: why are the perpetrators not being considered terrorists.

According to reports, the protesters were pelting stones at state buses when a school bus, containing students and teachers, was caught in the crossfire. The protesters did not stop pelting stones even after it became apparent that the bus was shuttling children. The bus driver sped away and saved the passengers from getting hurt. Following the attack, schools in Gurgaon, including Pathways school, GD Goenka School, Shiv Nadar School and Delhi Public School remained closed on January 25. 

A video of the incident triggered outrage on social media, with many questiong the inteptitude of the state government and law enforcement agencies, something that has been the focal point of critcism in Haryana, in light of multiple recent cases of sexual violence and rape.

Meanwhile, the Rajput Karni Sena, a right-wing Hindu group that rose to fame in the past year for vehemently protesting Padmavati, denied having any role in the attack on the schools bus. Vijendra Singh, a Karni Sena spoekesperson, said, “Rajputs can never even think of attacking a school bus. This is a plot being created by politicians, who wish to weaken our peaceful protest.”

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Haryana DGP denied charges of police inaction and said that it would be difficult for the accused to get bail. 

Also Read: Why Karni Sena can attack schoolchildren and get away with it