Constable Sarbeswar Roy at the Islampur subdivisional hospital on Monday. (Mehedi Hedaytullah)

Islampur, Feb. 27: Guardians and police clashed at two Madhyamik centres today over alleged copying during the English exam, leaving a school girl and two policemen injured in the violence.

Lili Banu’s mother said a baton charge by police has left the Class X girl with three broken teeth. Lili, who had to be hospitalised after she was allegedly hit on the head and legs, was at Ramganj High School where her sister was writing the Madhyamik exam.

Trouble broke out at the school around 2pm when the policemen on duty spotted notes being passed inside exam halls through windows. When the police intervened and chased away those who supplying answers to the examinees, a clash broke out. Two persons were arrested.

“I was standing outside when suddenly a police came and started hitting me with his lathi without any provocation,” Lili, who has been admitted to the Ramganj block hospital, said.

Jyotsna Begum said: “How can they beat up my daughter in such a merciless manner?” Constable Sarbeswar Roy said he had seen Lili trip and fall during the police chase. “I helped her up and when I was about to take her to hospital, a large crowd started beating me,” Roy said from his bed at the Islampur subdivisional hospital.

At Lodhon High School in Goalpokhar, 55km from Ramganj, officer-in-charge Wahab Mollah was injured in the arm by a stone thrown by those waiting outside the exam centre. The police had baton charged those trying to sneak in notes to the examinees. Mollah was given first-aid at the block hospital and released.

North Dinajpur police chief Dipankar Bhattacharya said prohibitory orders were in force within 100 metres of each examination centre but Section 144 had been violated by the waiting guardians inside the two schools.

“In the Ramganj incident, the girl who was injured fell on her face while fleeing when the police chased those breaking the law. One of the policemen on duty helped her get up and was taking her to the block health centre when he was attacked by the guardians and beaten up after someone spread the word that the girl had been beaten up by the police. The injured constable has been admitted to the subdivisional hospital here,” Bhattacharya said.

He said the officer-in-charge of Goalpokhar police station was injured in the stone-throwing.

Extra policemen from the Ramganj outpost and Islampur were sent to tackle the situation at Lodhon High School, the SP said.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Examinations’ special observer for Islampur subdivision, Mustafa Kamal Chowdhury, conceded that there were instances of using unfair means in some of the Madhyamik centres.

“We have alerted the invigilators as well as the centre-in-charges to see to it that the examinations are conducted properly and in a peaceful manner,” he said.