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Dehradun school owner rejects allegations of ‘anti-national activities’
The owner of the school has said that he will file defamation suits against the people and organisations who are raising such allegations
A day after the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) inspected a private school in Dehradun over a wide range of allegations including that of “anti-national activities”, its owner on Sunday said he will file defamation suits against the people and organisations who are raising such allegations.
The Commission chairperson Dr Geeta Khanna, who inspected the school on Saturday, said there are serious allegations against the school, owned by Lt Col (retd) MK Hussain, from unauthorised land use, illegal construction, exorbitant fees to anti-national activities and funding from across the border.
She said she has taken up the matter with different agencies and departments and also written to minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt to look into the alleged “anti-national activities”.
“There are also complaints that they have links with madrasas, where students are sent from the school. The owner of the school in army uniform has a picture with former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. There are also complaints about funding from across the border. There is also political patronage to him,” she said.
“I took into my custody some documents from the school which include finance sheets,” Khanna added.
It’s the same school which came in news in July last year after it allegedly decided to call off classes on Fridays before the usual time. The school, which claimed the decision was taken solemnly for administrative reasons, had withdrawn the decision after it resulted in a controversy.
The owner of the school said, “A certain section is running a nefarious campaign for the last many months against me and my school to disturb the peace and religious harmony in my area. All these allegations are politically motivated, fake and baseless. I will be taking the legal course of action.”
“The child rights commission didn’t give us prior information or serve notice that they would be visiting and what for,” he added.
The Commission chairperson said, “First of all, there was no land use change to build the school on the agricultural land hence they didn’t get any building plan approval. The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) subsequently served notice to the school for the demolition of illegal constructions but they got a stay order from the authorities concerned and started raising further structures illegally. On the basis of illegally raised buildings, they get NOC from the education department and affiliation from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).”
“It’s a concern that he has a picture with former Pak PM Imran Khan that too in Army uniform,” she said.
“I have also asked the madrasa board to give me details about the madrasas located in the area and the students enrolled to look into allegations if they take students to nearby madrasas,” she said.
VP Singh, block education officer (BEO) of the area, said, “Some locals complained to the child rights commission against the school following which their team visited the school on Saturday. They inspected the documents and took along some documents with them too.”
Asked about the religion-based allegations, he said, “These are just talks. I have visited the school on several occasions and didn’t find anything like that after speaking to the students who say all religions are respected there.”
Khanna said, “I have already written letters to the various departments and agencies including MDDA, the education department, the public works department (PWD), and district magistrate Dehradun. For allegations with regard to anti-national activities, I have written to state defence minister Ajay Bhatt to look into his Army background. It’s a concern that he has a picture with former Pak PM Imran Khan that too in Army uniform.”
“I have also asked the madrasa board to give me details about the madrasas located in the Vikas Nagar area and the students enrolled to look into allegations if they take students to nearby madrasas,” he said.
VP Singh, block education officer (BEO), Vikas Nagar, said, “Some locals complained to the child rights commission against the school following which their team visited the school on Saturday. They inspected the documents and took along some documents with them too.”
When asked about the religion-based allegations, he said, “These are just talks. I have visited the school on several occasions and didn’t find anything like that after speaking to students who say all religions are respected there.”
