One of the oldest missionary schools in upper Assam on Saturday sought police protection after a poster was pasted on its boundary wall warning the authorities to "take off" all religious statues from the school within a week or face consequences.

Carmel School, located in Jorhat, has written to the Cinnamara police outpost about the poster pasted on Friday night "regarding taking off the religious statues for the school" and urged the police force "to look into the sensitive matter and take necessary action".

The formal application seeking police protection, shared by a church body, further said the "sensitive matter" had "created a sense of panic in the school campus".

The application, written by school principal Sister Rose Fatima, said that her institution had "been very accommodating and respectful towards people of every religion and culture" and maintained an "atmosphere of peace and tranquillity".

A Cinnamara police official confirmed the development, adding they were investigating the matter.

No organisation or individual has claimed responsibility for pasting the poster.

However, the development comes close on the heels of some Guwahati-based right-wing organisations directing schools run by missionaries or Christian community members on February 7 to remove religious symbols or statues of Jesus, Mary, the Cross and Church from school campus within 15 days.

They also wanted the minority educational institutes to observe Saraswati Puja and stop the conversion of educational institutions to religious institutions.

A missionary school in Tripura had similarly approached the police for protection after a right-wing group wanted to organise Saraswati Puja in the school.