SDM report points to serious lapses by school

NEW DELHI: Following the rape of a five-year-old girl at Delhi's Tagore Public School, the sub-divisional magistrate's (SDM) report has identified six major lapses in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)-recognised school, located in Gandhinagar.

The girl was raped allegedly by a peon inside a classroom inside the school premises on September 9.

Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot had directed the SDM of Vivek Vihar to conduct an inquiry to find out whose negligence led to the accident. He was also directed to suggest measures to avoid such incidents in the future in schools.

The SDM's report will now be forwarded to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for his perusal and to decide the next course of action.

The report observed that unhindered access was given to the accused to all the areas of the school. The accused was working for the school, though a formal appointment letter does not appear to have been issued.

The movement of the accused and other such non-teaching employees were required to be restricted, so that he did not have any contact with the school children.

The report also noted that the nursery classroom where the incident occurred should have been locked after the class was over.

It also said that the unlocked pitch-dark classroom facilitated the accused in his nefarious intentions.

Moreover, non-coverage of the whole school building under CCTV Cameras reduced the deterrence effect, observed the report.

The report also noted the accused had been working in the school for almost two-and-a-half years, without the school authorities undertaking any police verification or background check

In the report, the SDM observed that East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has taken no action against the school for conducting classes in unrecognised areas of the school building.

Lastly, the report found that the school's last safety audit was conducted by the School Inspector of EDMC in December 2016. However, the safety Audit report did not have any parameters with regard to the police verification of employees, installation of CCTV Cameras, entry/exit restrictions for unauthorised people etc.