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DY Patil High School near Talegaon town in Pune district has reopened after being closed last Thursday following an assault on its principal during protests by parents of students, members of VHP and Bajrang Dal, mainly against Installing a CCTV camera in the girls’ washroom.
Officials and parents confirmed the school reopened on Monday, but said the principal, Alexander Coates Reid, has not yet returned to duty.
School authorities did not respond to several requests for comment from The Indian Express, which visited the school on Tuesday to find that classes were in place.
When contacted, Reid, who has been the CBSE Headmaster since 2017, declined to comment. Sources close to the principal said no official communication was received during his tenure although two coordinators working with him have been excluded from all parent-teacher WhatsApp groups — and the principal is not in any relevant group.
On July 4, a group of workers from VHP and Bajrang Dal, accompanied by several students’ parents, arrived at the institution to file a complaint against the installation of a CCTV camera in the restroom area of ​​girls studying in grades 8-12 and also an alleged reading of Christian prayers but not of religions. other. Then, videos showed a crowd shouting slogans chasing and attacking Reid, who ran from them onto the school campus with his clothes tattered.
The school administration and the principal did not file a complaint with the police about the incident.
Police said they had received a complaint from a parent about the installation of security cameras and the prayer ceremony.
“We are still conducting our investigation into the complaint application filed by a parent and we are also awaiting the report of the Block Education Officer,” said Ranjit Sawant, Inspector in Charge of MIDC Police Station.
Last week, Sodam Walung Block Education Officer, who was part of the school’s investigation team, said, “Our investigation indicates that the camera was installed inside the bathroom block one month ago. It has been removed from there now. The school management has approved its presence and said they are looking into it.” who installed it.
However, sources close to the principal said that CCTV “was installed at the end of March or early April of this year and it was announced in the School Board” at the time.
“There are about 1,350 children from Pre-Primary to Std XII… There have been some incidents and verbal complaints made of harassment of young students in the boys’ and girls’ washroom lobby area. CCTV has been installed in the restroom lobby areas for both boys and girls on the fourth floor of the school building. There were some incidents where property was destroyed in the bathroom hall.”
In response to complaints about the prayer, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name,” the sources described it as a “public prayer,” which was translated into Marathi and
It is recited in Hindi during the school assembly.
On Tuesday, a group of eight to 10 parents of the students submitted an application to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in Pimpri Chinchwad, Kakasaheb Dole. “We have started interviewing senior officials from the police, administration and education departments to seek appropriate action in the event that CCTV cameras are installed inside the washroom area,” said one parent.
“Several days have passed and no action has been taken by any of these departments even though this is a very serious issue. We will be meeting the DCP in person tomorrow. We have endeavored to thoroughly investigate the complaint to the Talegaon MIDC Police Station and its FIR registration,” he said. Guardian: “In the coming days, we will meet officials from other departments.” –With input from Sushant Kulkarni
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