Frisking of girls at MIT-Pune: Parties seek probe, demand action
What's the story
A probe has been demanded by the Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP, on Monday into the alleged frisking of girl students at a school run by a Pune-based institute, while they had come there to appear for class 12 examinations.
Around 30 girl students from a school had come to take an examination in a school run by MIT in Loni Kalbhor.
Here's more.
The search
Girls asked to remove clothes for search to preventing cheating
Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said, "The girls said they were asked to remove their clothes for search in name of preventing cheating."
"But the state Education Minister Vinod Tawde told me that there is no such provision allowing frisking of girl students. I am surprised as all the girl students who were frisked by MIT guards belong to a particular school," Gorhe claimed.
The students
Girls from other school not treated like this
MLC Gorhe said, "The girl students from other schools who had their center in MIT were not treated in this way. The matter should be probed."
BJP MLA Medha Kulkarni said she has personally raised the issue with Vinod Tawde, who assured her that the matter would be probed.
"It's a completely unacceptable behavior of the guards towards the girl students," she said.
Action
Opposition leaders too sought action on the matter
Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and NCP leader Ajit Pawar also sought an action against the school administration and the guards who "frisked the girls".
"The center should be changed immediately as those girl students would be uncomfortable in attending the exam. It could affect their results as there are 2-3 exam papers still to be attended," said Patil.
Allegations
Incident has caused outrage among parents
However, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education had denied allegations that two girls appearing for class 12 examinations were "strip searched" by two women guards at the school.
The alleged incident had caused an outrage among parents.
Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, MIT has said, "The charges levelled against our two staffers are baseless, false and defamatory towards our institution."