Teacher’s murder raises school security concerns in Kheri

She said that although the school staff were untrained to handle such a situation, they made their best efforts to stop the assailant and ensure the children’s safety, but could not prevent the violence.

A day after a woman teacher was shot dead by an armed man who later died by suicide, coordinator of Children’s Academy School Aparna Mishra on Tuesday ruled out any security lapse at the school in Lakhimpur Kheri where the incident took place.

The demands include regular security audits, visitor verification, CCTV surveillance, trained security personnel and standard operating procedures for emergencies. (For representation only)

Mishra said the school had 42 CCTV cameras and entry was allowed only after verifying parent IDs issued to every parent. In a video message, she said 28-year-old Saud Ansari managed to enter the school by taking advantage of the crowd of parents who had gathered to take their children home after periodic examinations.

She said that although the school staff were untrained to handle such a situation, they made their best efforts to stop the assailant and ensure the children’s safety, but could not prevent the violence.

The incident has raised concerns over security arrangements at educational institutions. An ABVP delegation met Kheri DM Anjani Kumar Singh on Tuesday and submitted a 12-point memorandum seeking uniform security standards for schools.

The demands include regular security audits, visitor verification, CCTV surveillance, trained security personnel and standard operating procedures for emergencies.

Meanwhile, a CCTV video purportedly from the school went viral on social media, showing Ansari forcibly taking teacher Nishat Fatima towards the stairs while holding her hand. Postmortem reports confirmed that Fatima died of multiple bullet injuries, while Ansari died from a single gunshot wound.