Maharashtra Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Monday said that CCTV footage from the last 15 days has gone missing at the Badlapur school where two minor girls were allegedly raped.
Oddly, the minister also said that an inquiry has been conducted into the available footage disappearance and as well on whether any school official has a hand in it, as reported by India Today.
The school administration and police have come under heavy criticism concerning the way they have handled the case. The absence of the CCTV footage has only added to the questions that people have about the way that school management has handled the situation.
Kesarkar also stated that similar to the BMC chiefs decision, the state government has intentions of fitting panic buttons in schools in Maharashtra.
The minister said this proposal was mentioned when he had a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde along with the Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
“Likewise for the CCTVs in schools, panic buttons can also be installed… A panic button may be fixed in the hostels… It’s an advanced feature,” he said this while addressing the media.
More than thousand people poured into the street to protest a recent alleged assault in Thane district, where the school is situated. The case whereby a male attendant is accused of slapping two 4-year-old girls in the compound’s washroom.
The accused in the matter is Akshay Shinde, 23 years old, who was arrested on August 17. Speaking to KNA on Monday, the school’s deputy head teacher identified the students as the principal, a class teacher, and a female attendant.
