Four days after 34 students of a private English medium school in Bhubaneswar were allegedly detained in the school library over non-payment of school fees, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday asked for a report on the incident.
34 students were locked up inside the school’s library for hours. (Sourced image)
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Last week, 34 students of Apeejay School in Bhubaneshwar that is run by Apeejay Education Trust, a welfare Trust of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, were confined to the library for five hours over alleged non-payment of fees.
Bhubaneswar police registered a case under sections 342 and 34 of IPC and Section 75 of Juvenile Justice Act against the CEO, vice-principal and administrative manager of the school over the issue.
In their complaint before the police, parents of the 34 students of the school between class 3 and 9 alleged that their wards were detained in a room between 9:30am and 2:30pm by their respective class teachers over non-payment of fees.
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The NHRC asked Khordha district collector, secretary of school & mass education department, and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police commissioner to submit the report within four weeks.
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The NHRC asked Khordha district collector, secretary of school & mass education department, and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police commissioner to submit the report within four weeks.
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The commission had received a complaint in this connection from human rights activist Bhajaman Biswal.
The Khurda district administration has already issued a show cause to the school about the incident.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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