Arvind Kejriwal seeks report over alleged confinement of kindergarten students in Delhi school basement

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought a report from the education department on Wednesday about the alleged confinement of kindergarten students in the basement for not paying school fees.

The Delhi Police had also registered a case against the concerned school.

“An FIR under section 342 of the IPC and 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of the Children) Act has been registered at Hauz Qazi police station,” said ACP, Kamla Market, according to reports. He added that further investigations were on.

Commenting on the matter, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “The chief minister has sought a report on the Rabia Public School issue. He has called the Secretary and Director of Education for all the facts.”

Kejriwal and Sisodia will also visit the educational institute on Thursday to conduct a meeting with the students, parents and school authorities.

“The deputy chief minister and I will visit the school tomorrow at 10 am. We will meet the kids, their parents and school authorities,” Kejriwal said.

The matter came to light after the police were informed by some parents that 16 children were confined to the basement by their teachers between 7 am to 12 noon in central Delhi’s Hauz Qazi area.

The New Indian Express quoted Imran, a parent of one of the children, as saying,“I found my daughter sitting on the floor of the school’s basement among others — crying. When we asked the teachers that why they have been sent to the basement, they cited the authorities above have asked them to do so as the fees of these students haven’t yet been received.”

He also said that nearly 60 other children from different sections of the class were confined in the basement of the school based on the allegation.

Imran claimed the parents have already paid the fees, however, the principal hardly chose to spare five minutes to hear them out.

Refuting the allegations, the headmistress of the school, Farah Dabia, said that the basement is where the children were playing and that there were two teachers watching the students, ANI reported.

“The children usually sit on the ground, and the fan had gone for repair that day. The allegations are wrong,” Dabia said.

With inputs from PTI