A major protest broke out in Kanpur on the premises of the St Mary's Convent School after some of its students were allegedly punished and humiliated for wearing 'rakhi' (sacred thread worn on the festival of Raksha Bandhan) and 'mehndi' (a natural dye) to school.

According to reports, the victim students were made to stand in the sun as punishment for wearing rakhi and mehndi to the school. It is reported that the school authorities forced these girls to wash off the mehndi, which led to bleeding from their hands.

Some reports said that the school authorities even forced a girl to rub her hands on a stone to clear the mehndi.

The families of the students later arrived at the school located on GT Road in Fatehpur after the girls narrated them the incident.

According to Hindi.news18.com, the parents were miffed with the school authorities as it is a common tradition during Raksha Bandhan to put on mehndi. The school authorities allegedly cut off the rakhi tied on the hands of the girls.

The angry parents demanded an explanation from the school for such punishments. The police intervened when the situation got tense and calmed the agitated parents.

The school authorities have maintained that the students were asked to remove mehndi and rakhi as the Catholic institution strictly forbids use of religious symbols in the school, it was reported.

Reacting to the incident, a social media user later shared a picture of the school teachers, including the nuns, and questioned if the school doesn't permit religious symbols then why were teachers allowed to wear a 'cross' to the class.

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