Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has, in a letter addressed to all government and private schools in the city and state, asked them to adhere to safety norms for school children in light of the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old boy in a Ryan International School at Gurugram on September 8. The letter has warned schools that in the event of complaints of lapses, the MNS would not tolerate the same and would deal with the errant school in ‘its style’.
Following the brutal murder of Pradyuman Thakur, the MNS chief wrote a scathing letter wherein he expressed extreme resentment on seeing an increase in the incidences of molestation of students. “It is sad that the children who are the future of this country are not safe in their own schools. These incidences somewhere reflect the careless attitude of the school administration and the government, both towards the safety of the students….unfortunately, it is quite clear that the authorities in our government do not hold this issue significant as efforts to design and implement policies to address this issue cannot be seen,” said the letter.
Directing people in the school administration to take vigilant measures to protect the children, the letter further said that he considered all children of Maharashtra as his own. As a parent I expect everyone to feel the same and treat all children in the same manner. “If everyone in the school feels the same, I am sure that no harm will ever be made to any child in such an institution,” said Mr Thackeray.
While concluding the letter he said that MNS would support the schools in ensuring the safety of the children but warned that any carelessness would draw the ire of the party.
However, when asked about the letter, Mumbai police spokesperson, DCP (Operations) Rashmi Karandikar said, “The Mumbai police shall act if any of the schools approach us and register a formal complaint stating the problem. No action has been initiated on the circular issued by any party until now.”
