Dead CCTVs in School, No Sakhi Savitri Committee: Who Failed Badlapur Minors?

Events following molestation of minors in Thane school & child rights commission's probe point to several lapses.

'Jawabdar kon, uttar denar kon?' (Who is responsible? Who will answer?) was a slogan being raised by thousands of irate civilians, teachers, and parents who took to the streets in Maharashtra's Thane on Tuesday, 20 August to demand justice for two kindergarten girls who were molested by a staffer in a school in Badlapur.

At least two minor girls, aged 3 and 4, were molested by a sweeper hired by the school on contractual basis between 13-15 August, a matter that came to the fore after one of the survivors informed about the same to her parents. The incident sparked massive outrage in Badlapur, leading to large scale protests.

While the accused, a 24-year-old Akshay Shinde was arrested last week, the question being asked by scores of protesters on Badlapur's streets on Tuesday remains: Who exactly failed the two minors? Who is answerable?

In this piece, we will take a closer look at some key questions and lapses:

Was a Background Check of the Accused Done Before Hiring? How Was He Allowed Access to Girls' Washroom?

The accused, Akshay Shinde, was hired by the school on a contractual basis on 1 August via a private agency, which means he committed the crimes merely days after his employment began at the school.

Speaking to The Quint, Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) chairperson Susieben Shah said that there were several lapses on the part of the school.

"We are not sure whether a background check was done of the accused before hiring him. Also, whether there is previous a criminal record of him will also have to be checked. It is still under investigation," Shah said.

"When it comes to the staff, how can a male staff have access to young girls' bathroom? This was a serious shortcoming," she said.

Shah also said that the school and its administration is under scrutiny to establish how much the school was responsible given the lapses observed just in the preliminary investigation.

"The school authority is responsible for what happened. The school was functional when the incidents took place, the child was in the school area, so the child was in their custody. So, as along as the child was wearing the school uniform, the school is responsible for it, they can't run away from it," Shah said.

Why Were CCTVs Not Working at the School?

A preliminary investigation by the members of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) on Tuesday revealed that though CCTV cameras were installed in the school premises, they were dysfunctional.

A similar incident of sexual assault on an 11-year-old girl had taken place in a school in Pune in March 2022, following which then state education minister of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government had not just made installation of CCTV cameras mandatory in all private schools across the state but also explicitly stated that the cameras need to be functional.

In December that year, a similar incident took place in a school in Mumbai where two minor boys sexually assaulted a classmate.

Then home minister under the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government had assured the Maharashtra Assembly that the state government "will hold a joint meeting of school education department and home department to draw up an action plan."

In its school safety guidelines issues in 2021, the Union Education ministry has stated: "To the extent and only if and wherever possible, CCTV cameras may be installed at the entry points, exit points and vulnerable locations in the school. Proper monitoring and storage of recordings in such cases must be ensured."

Addressing the media on Tuesday, state education minister Deepak Kesarkar said that guidelines will once again be issues for the installation of CCTV cameras in schools and it will be specifically stressed that they need to be functional.

Why Didn't the School Have a 'Sakhi Savitri' Committee?

One of the key questions being raised is the formation of the Sakhi Savitiri committee at the school and the role of the local authorities in ensuring its implementation as such.

In March 2022, the state government had issued a government resolution for the formation of Sakhi Savitri committees in schools which would comprise of the school's administrative committee head, the principal, a female teacher, a female medical practitioner, an aanganwadi member, a police official, a female parent, and two male and female students.

Other than several key responsibilities like forging equality among students and parents, and ensuring return of COVID-impacted children to school, one of key task to be performed by such a committee is to educate girl students on protecting themselves against any threats, physical or mental.

Such a committee at the school level is expected to meet once every month at the school and is also expected to send reports to the Sakhi Savitri panel formed by the government with city/taluka level officials.

The Badlapur school had not formed such a committee since it was made mandated over two years ago, Shah told The Quint.

In January this year, the MSCPCR had written to state education minister Deepak Kesarkar questioning why the committees were not in place at either the school or the government levels. In the letter, Shah also stated that despite a government resolution being issued in March 2022, the guidelines by the state government were issued only in May 2023 after the MSCPCR's intervention.

As quoted by the Indian Express, the letter stated: "A joint meeting was held in November 2023 by the school education department and the child right commission to discuss implementation plans, and orders were issued to act on the guidelines by December-end 2023. However, no action is seen on the ground."

Speaking to The Quint, Shah said: "I was given to believe that 1,100 schools (in Thane) have formed the Sakhi Savitri committee. I am writing a letter today asking for a report as to which are those schools, what is the committee that was made, who are the members, and how many times has the committee met?"

In his address on Tuesday, Kesarkar stated that about 82,000 schools across Maharashtra have already formed the Sakhi Savitri committee. However, considering the total of 1,11,879 schools, including local body and private aided, about 27% of the state's schools are yet to form such a committee.

Was There a Delay in Filing the FIR?

One of the key reasons behind the ire of the protesters on Tuesday was the alleged delay of 12 hours in filing the FIR.

According to media reports, a kin claimed that the mother of one of the survivors was made to wait at the police station for 10 hours despite being pregnant and had to be hospitalised due to stress and trauma.

Reacting to the alleged delay DCP Sudhakar Pathare on Tuesday said: "Both victims were 3-4-year-old girls. First, it was imperative to fully understand their allegations with the help of the parents. Following that, registering the details using the new sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, then finally filing the report is a time-consuming process. The process did not take 11-12 hours as is being claimed."

State home minister Devendra Fadnavis' office said that the Police Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, and head constable present at the time of the procedure have been suspended.

"I have asked for a separate structure in every crime branch which is a kind of a mini police station in an already existing police station where the officers only take up cases related to women and children. If any complaint comes or any person comes with a complaint regarding assault or misbehaviour with a woman or a child, it has to be handled by them," Shah told The Quint.

"Accountability has to be fixed. There are two crore children at the primary school level. So, the accountability has to be fixed whether it is the police, the school, the government, the journalists, or the parents. Things won't change unless everybody does their part," she added.

On Tuesday, Kesarkar issued fresh guidelines for schools such as regular rotation of staff, presence of more female staff for younger students, installing emergency alarms at key locations in schools, and female staff being responsible for cleaning and maintenance of premises used by girl students, and educating staff on sexual harassment laws.

Along with the formation of Sakhi Savitri committees, the government also ordered the formation Vishakha Committees which would comprise of senior students for younger children to share their issues, and said that all schools must comply to the same within eight days.