A Class II girl went unnoticed by her class teacher and was allegedly left locked inside her classroom for over eight hours while her classmates were left for picnic in Northeast Delhi’s Gokulpuri area on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Dr AK Singla said, “We have registered a case under Sections of Juvenile Justice Act and Section 336 of IPC (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) at the Gokulpuri police station.”
Seven-year-old Nancy Bisht of Capital Model Public School in Ganga Vihar was locked by a security guard. All the students of Class I to X of the school reportedly had gone for a picnic to India Gate and Akshardham Temple.
It was in the late evening when Nancy’s mother, Meena Bisht, a home-maker, came to pick her up from school, the incident come light. Unable to find her, she called up Nancy’s class teacher but the teacher replied that Nancy had not come to the school.
A CCTV footage inside the school after an hour of scanning through all the buildings finally led to the girl, crying and shivering in her class.
Nancy was reportedly left locked from 9 am till 5 pm. Over those eight hours, Nancy shouted, cried for help but in vain.
“Initially, the school authorities feigned ignorance claiming that the child had not come to the school. When I asked for the CCTV cameras to be scanned, the principal refused. In turn, I called the police,” said the girl’s mother.
It was only when the entire building was inspected on Saturday evening that the seven-year-old girl was found locked in a classroom on the second floor.
The incident highlights the gross negligence on the part of the school.
A senior police officer told The Pioneer, “As per the enquiry, we spoke to the principal and the class teacher. They claimed that the child was mistakenly left behind in the class.”
The officer said that the child was taken to the Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital where she was examined. “As per the preliminary enquiry, no trace of an injury or sexual assault has been found on the child.”
Police said that the child is in trauma. “She is very scared. For eight hours, she was left, she did not eat. She kept crying,” said a senior police officer.