Inquiry team visits school, finds CCTV cameras dysfunctional

Our Correspondent

Patiala, November 23

A day after the video of a special child of a private school being abused went viral on the social media, an inquiry team, including District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and members of the District Child Welfare Committee, visited the school premises today morning to investigate the case.

Though staff and majority of children were not present in the school due to gazetted holiday, the investigating team reviewed the security arrangements for the children.

The video showed a special child tied to a chair in the classroom of the Navjivini School of Special Education. It has been claimed that the child was tied to the chair as a punishment by a teacher in the school.

The school management failed to provide the CCTV footage of the incident. It is learnt that the CCTV cameras installed on the premises were not functional for the past several months.

DCPO Shaina Kapoor said they would also forward the complaint of dysfunctional CCTV cameras and other flaws to the State Child Rights Commission for the required action against the school authorities.

District Child Welfare Committee Chairman Daljit Singh Gill said the school authorities had been asked to maintain a proper visitor record at the main gate of the school. The District Child Welfare Committee has decided to revisit the school to check the proper abidance of safety manual by the school authorities.

Meanwhile, the school authorities admitted the technical snag of the CCTV cameras and said all issues would be addressed soon.