The situation is now gradually returning to normalcy in Sihora but deployment of police forces remained as a precautionary measure to avoid any kind of untoward incident. Senior police and administrative officers are keeping vigilant monitoring of the law and order arrangements to keep the situation under control.

 

The tension that began during an evening prayer at a temple in Sihora, near Jabalpur, on February 19 night continued to affect the town until Friday evening, disrupting normal life and causing difficulties for school students appearing in examinations. Amid the unrest, Class 5 and Class 8 examinations were scheduled in Sihora.

 

The exams were held at Government Girls’ School and CM Rise School, with the main route to the centres passing through the bus stand area where protests and vandalism were taking place. Parents had to take their children through long bypass routes of several kilometres to reach the examination centres. Some students arrived late and appeared for the exams in a tense atmosphere. Despite the situation, most students managed to attend.

 

According to the Education Department, 6,371 candidates were registered across 30 examination centres, of whom 5,886 students appeared, while 485 remained absent. The paper conducted was English for Hindi-medium students and Hindi for English-medium students. Officials said this is the third day since the incident and the situation is now largely normal. People have begun stepping out for daily activities, and about half the market had reopened by Saturday morning.