Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the incident that happened with a girl child in a private school bus in Bhopal is a breach of trust. Parents send their children to school with trust, it is the responsibility of the school management to maintain this trust. Strict action should be taken against the school management along with the guilty driver and school maid.
Chouhan gave these instructions in an emergency meeting called at 7 am on Thursday. Principal Secretary School Education Rashmi Arun Shami, Bhopal Divisional Commissioner Gulshan Bamra, Police Commissioner Makarand Deuskar, Collector Bhopal Avinash Lavania and other officers were present in the meeting held at the residence office. Additional Chief Secretary Home Dr. Rajesh Rajoura virtually attended the meeting.
Chief Minister Chouhan said that it is the responsibility of the school management to ensure the verification of the staff in the school buses. We cannot leave the children in the hands of such criminals. The school management should have looked into why the CCTV cameras were not working in the bus. This is also the responsibility of the school management. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that the message must go that action will be taken against the guilty however influential they are, this belief should be strong that the government will not spare the criminals. Strict action should be taken in time, so that the management understands its answerability and responsibility.
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that the drivers and staff in the buses of all the schools in Bhopal should be scrutinized. Those with a criminal record and shady character should not be employed. Workshop should be conducted regarding training of staff and legal provisions.
Along with this, training focused on awareness and information regarding the provisions of POCSO Act among children and parents should also be imparted in all government and private schools.
The police administration should also communicate effectively with the parents and the society on this subject.
Giving information about the incident and the action taken so far, Commissioner of Police Makrand Deuskar said that efforts are also being made while taking other children and their parents into confidence whether such an incident has happened with any other child.