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UP govt schools have no panel to deal with cases of sexual harassment

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sexual harassment

Most of the government schools in Uttar Pradesh have not yet set up a dedicated panel to deal with sexual harassment cases, as per the provisions of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act of 2012.

Lucknow, Feb 6 : Most of the government schools in Uttar Pradesh have not yet set up a dedicated panel to deal with sexual harassment cases, as per the provisions of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act of 2012.

In contrast, private schools largely abide by the Act.

Sarita Singh, gender equity consultant for basic education department, said, “We run regular awareness programmes at schools and have nodal officers in every district as well as basic education officers, who go to schools to ensure that these campaigns are run regularly. There is supposed to be one dedicated teacher in each school to look after potential cases of sexual harassment.”

Vishwajeet Pandey, district officer for Lucknow, said that no such cases of sexual harassment have ever come to his attention from the 1,871 schools under the department during his term. “We hardly get to hear of any complaints from the school in-charges. During Covid, we got a complaint regarding a child marriage — where the girl had run away from home because she was being forced into marriage. No case of sexual harassment has so far come to light.”

Notably, a circular sent out by the basic education department to all government schools in 2016 directed that every school should have a three-member management committee for the monitoring of possible sexual offences.

This panel should be chaired by the head of the school and have at least one female member.

However, according to Sarita Singh, there has hardly been any follow-up to properly check the implementation of the order.

While the basic education department runs awareness campaigns with teachers and students in schools, a system for redressal and registering of such complaints is lacking.

Shuchita Chaturvedi, member of Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said, “If a child wants to register an anonymous complaint with school authorities, how are they supposed to do that? There is nobody to address these complaints. The children are not aware of the course of action they should adopt to register a complaint.”

Meanwhile, Vijay Kiran Anand, director general for School Education Uttar Pradesh, said, “We have a programme called gender equity programme and through that, we keep conducting awareness drives. Sensitisation of teachers and students through trainings and workshops happen regularly. There are committees at the district-level but not in schools. We have given instructions to school managements but compliance of the order can be adjudged when complaints surface. We have around 1.36 lakh schools. We are not certain as to how many schools have complied to order.”

In a similar vein, Vishwajeet Pandey added, “We have conducted street plays and discussions at the schools but we never received a sexual harassment complaint as such. Complaints and suggestion boxes are provided in some schools.”

Crime

Andhra Pradesh Govt Suspends Three IPS Officers Over Actress Harassment Case

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The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday suspended three senior IPS officers following an inquiry into the allegations made by a Mumbai-based actress, Kadambari Jethwani. The state government issued orders suspending P. Sitharama Anjaneyulu, then Director General of Police, Intelligence; Kanthi Rana Tata, the then Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, and Vishal Gunni, then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada.

She and her parents allegedly faced harassment at the hands of police officers at the instance of a leader of YSR Congress, which was then the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh. The suspensions were issued under Rule 3 (1) of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969. Sitharama Anjaneyulu has been suspended on allegations of misuse of power and grave misconduct.

He had allegedly instructed the other two officials to arrest the actress, even before a formal crime had been registered. There are allegations that Kanthi Rana Tata arrested the actress based on oral instructions from his superior on January 31, 2024, before the registration of the FIR on February 2.

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Crime

UP: Man Beats Wife To Death In Amroha For Not Meeting Dowry Demands Of TVS Apache Bike & ₹3 Lakh Cash

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Amroha: In a tragic incident from Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha, a young woman named Meena was brutally beaten to death by her husband, Sundar, for not fulfilling his dowry demands. Sundar, a resident of Baikheda village, had been married to Meena for two years and had persistently demanded a TVS Apache bike and Rs 3 lakh as dowry. Despite repeated harassment over the dowry, Meena was unable to meet his demands, a situation she had confided to her father.

Meena had been staying at her father’s home in Soharka since the festival of Rakshabandhan, possibly seeking refuge from the abuse. Sundar continued visiting her daily, often having meals with her family, creating an appearance of normalcy.

Sundar Brought Meena Back Home, Later Killed Her

On Sunday night, he came to bring her back to his house. Once there, Sundar confronted her again about the dowry and, in a violent fit of rage, attacked her with sticks. Unable to force her compliance, he strangled her to death before fleeing the scene.

It was the local residents who first alerted the authorities to the murder. Upon hearing the devastating news, Meena’s family rushed to the police station, demanding immediate action against Sundar. Her father, Vijay Khadak Banshi, later lodged a formal complaint accusing Sundar, along with his mother, sister and four others, of involvement in the crime.

Case Filed, Manhunt Launched To Nab Accused

The police have registered a case based on the family’s complaint and are actively searching for Sundar, who remains at large. Meanwhile, Meena’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination to aid in the ongoing investigation.

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Crime

Palghar Crime: 32-Yr-Old Gang-Raped By 2 Men On Knifepoint In Nalasopara; Case Filed

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Palghar: The Maharashtra Police has registered a case against two accused for gang-raping a 32-year-old woman at knifepoint in Santosh Bhavan in the Nalasopara area of the Palghar district.

As per the police, the two accused have been identified as Jitendra Yadav and Avi Jaiswal.

Case Registered Against The Accused

The Tulinj police, based on the woman’s statement, have registered a case against them under sections 70(1) and 351(2) of the BNS, and an operation to nab them is underway.

About A Previous Incident

In a separate incident, on September 11, two men were arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl while she was on her way home after witnessing Ganesh Utsav in Nalasopara of Palghar district.

According to the police, the 10-year-old girl lives with her family in the Shirdinagar area of Nalasopara East. The girl had gone to see the arrival of Ganesh in the area and while returning home from there, two people stopped her on the road near the house and took her to a deserted place and raped her one by one.

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