Following the confinement of two girls within school premises over the fee dispute, the police on Sunday took action by filing an FIR against the principal Vandana Medha and admin in-charge Vibha of GD Goenka School at Rajnagar Extension. Ghaziabad News
The police have booked Vandana and Vibha under IPC section 342 and section 75 of Juvenile Justice (JJ) act which respectively deal with illegal confinement and cruelty to child.
The mother alleged in the FIR that the school had forcefully confined two girl students in an attempt to get the annual charge on August 20.
On the next day of confinement, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had also asked the police to initiate the investigation and file its report within 7 working days.
Nidhi Dutta, the mother of both the girls, said that the police action is a major blow to the authoritarian attitude of the school. “The principal had once said that if I had to continue studies of my children in the school then I will have to go by their diktats,” said Nidhi.
Nidhi also said that she is not satisfied with just an FIR. She alleged that the name her younger daughter has not been called during daily attendance since the time she had approached the police.
“The school is trying various techniques to put pressure on me. Police should arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible,” she said.
Shivani Jain, President of All School’s Parent’s Association (ASPA) said that it is NCPCR whose involvement had pressurised the police to take action.
City Spidey had earlier reported about the police’s attempt to water down the investigation. The Circle Officer, Atish Kumar Singh, was heavily relying on the school’s version without crosschecking it.
Yashwant Jain, a member of NCPCR said that the police have delayed the investigation. “Police is delaying the case. The arrests should have been made till now, “Jain said.
Investigation officer of the case, sub-inspector Sarvesh Kumar, said that the investigation is in the process and accused will be arrested soon.
Shivani also said that the arrest will set an example for the schools that resort to such kinds of practices to procure illegal fees from parents. “After this (arrest), all schools will fall into line,” she said.
“It will also encourage parents to come out and report the cases of harassments by the schools,” she added.
