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Protesters say serious matter of four-year-old student’s alleged sexual assault on March 31 should be investigated without maligning the dignity of an individual
Private schools in Bathinda and other districts of Punjab remained closed on Monday in protest against the arrest of the managing director (MD) of a Gurdaspur-based school and another person in a case of alleged sexual assault of a four-year-old student on March 31.
Also read: Gurdaspur rape case: Police yet to identify main accused
The state president of Private Unaided School Association (PUSA), an umbrella organisation of 1,700 schools affiliated with CBSE and ICSE, Vinod Khurana, said that almost all institutes remained shut in Punjab.
“We also got the support of 3,300 private schools affiliated with Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) as there has been a strong resentment against the authorities after the Gurdaspur incident. The police action was unjust as there was no evidence against the chairman and other managers of the school. We will soon decide on our course of action if our demand for the immediate release of our colleagues is not met,” said Khurana.
Most private school authorities had alerted parents on Sunday itself that the next day would also be an off in view of the protest.
Mohinder Singh Bhola, another private school operator, said the call for the strike was given to stop the harassment of innocent people.
“We don’t intend to influence the judicial process but police should not come under undue pressure from politicians or the so-called civil society. The association also supports justice for the child and her family but a serious matter like sexual assault should be investigated objectively without maligning the dignity of an individual,” said Bhola.
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