Bishop Cotton School to draft protocols of students outings

Bishop Cotton School, one of the most prestigious schools of the capital city, has taken cognizance of the recent kidnapping of three of its students and decided to draft new protocols for all outings of its students, making them stricter than before.

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Mathew P John, Headmaster, while addressing mediapersons, said, “We are already in the process of drafting new protocols for all outings of students, including town leaves, night outs and when students leaves and comes back to the school after holidays.”

“We have already made a decision that even our senior students will not be allowed to visit the city or go out of town without having adult supervision with them,” he added.

“Himachal is one of the safest states in the country. However, this incident has made us understand that we must completely review and revise our protocols how our students are managed, especially outside the school,” he said.

John said that the school was also taking help of the police in drafting these protocols, which will be ready before the next town leave of the school.

Harish Janartha, MLA, Shimla (Urban), a former student and former board member of the school, said that the accused was an alumnus of the school. He added that teachers accompany the students till class V while students from Class VI and above are sent in a group of three. “A group of the three students was offered lift to the town by the accused, who proceeded to kidnap them and took them to Kotkhai region. He also threatened the students with a weapon,” he said.

Janartha said that investigation had revealed that the accused was struggling financially and, therefore, planned to kidnap the students. He also revealed that seeking lift is not permissible in the school and is a punishable act. “The students are allowed to hire a taxi. There was a bonding between the students and the alumnus of the school due to which they believed him and accepted his offer of lift to the town,” he added.