THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Dhanbad, Jan 13: The Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JSLSA) has taken suo moto cognizance of an incident where girls were allegedly undressed at a Dhanbad school. The JHALSA has directed the Dhanbad Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report.
Following the directive, Principal District and Sessions Judge, cum DLSA Chairman, Virendra Kumar Tiwari, constituted a nine-member committee to probe the allegations. The committee will function under the leadership of Kumar Vimlendu, Chief of the Legal and Defence Council System (LDCS).
The probe committee includes LDCS Deputy Chief Ajay Kumar Bhatt, Muskan Chopra, Arun Kumar, Rajesh Singh, Hemraj Chouhan, Anamika Singh, Ravinder Sharma, and Koleswar Ram, the officer in charge of the Jorapokhar police station.
DLSA Secretary-cum-Sub-Judge Rakesh Roshan announced the committee members’ names and said they had been instructed to submit their findings as soon as possible.
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The Incident
According to allegations made by the students’ guardians, on January 9, the school principal forced 80 students of Class X to remove their clothes as part of a celebration called “Pen Day,” during which students were asked to sign each other’s uniforms.
The incident sparked widespread protests from the students’ guardians, as well as local representatives, including the district’s MLA and MP.
Ongoing Investigations
The district administration has already set up a five-member committee to probe the matter. Additionally, the Jharkhand Abhivawak Mahasangh has written to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in New Delhi, requesting a detailed investigation and action against the school principal.
Meanwhile, a DLSA probe committee member stated that their team visited Carmel School Digwadih, where the incident allegedly took place. They sealed the principal’s office to preserve CCTV footage and recorded statements from the affected students, their guardians, and the principal.
“We have submitted our findings to the DLSA Secretary in a sealed envelope and cannot comment further,” the member said.
In parallel, the district administration’s probe team, led by SDM Rajesh Kumar, will visit the school again to review the CCTV footage. The school principal has denied the allegations, claiming on Saturday that no such incident took place.
