The parents of two Muslim girls, who were among the five students forced by the staff of Matoshri Shantabai Gote College in Washim to remove their burqas and hijabs last week, have dropped the police complaint filed against the college. Police said the parents wrote to them stating that they did not want to pursue the matter after the college tendered an apology. “We never intended to give this issue a communal colour. It was about the rights of students, especially girl students. We had demanded that the staff and college principal tender a public apology for their behaviour,” said Gazaffar Hussain, uncle of one of the students.

We had submitted a complaint to Washim City police last Monday. Now that the college authorities have tendered an apology, we are dropping the case. However, I hope they will be careful and won’t harass any other student like this,” said Hussain.