Thane school bus molestation: Parents take to streets, say not informed of third party conducting picnic

According to police, the attendant, Javed Mohammad Khan, inappropriately touched the children of the 7-8 age group while serving them food on the bus while heading to their picnic, organised at a theme park on Tuesday. “The bus was owned by a private picnic organiser roped in by the school. Khan had been working with the agency for 10 years on daily wages,” Sandeep Dhande, inspector of the police station, where the FIR has been registered.

While the police arrested the accused on Wednesday, the school, following the outrage, has already terminated the employment of the three teachers who had accompanied on the excursion during the pendency of the inquiry as well as formed an internal enquiry committee composed of all the senior members of the management.

#WATCH | Thane, Maharashtra: Parents hold protest outside school against the school administration over alleged molestation of children on a school trip. pic.twitter.com/1bbdmzHDsA

— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2024

However, now the protesting parents have raised demands of the removal of the management and justice for their children, citing lack of apathy from their end.

A father of one of the students who was present in the bus told The Indian Express, “Our child was sitting on the first seat with the teacher and thus was protected. The consent form circulated before the picnic did not mention that they would be deploying a third party to organise the tour. We would have made an informed decision if we had been told about this. However, that didn’t happen.”

“Furthermore, when we approached the management at first, their approach was not right. They asked us why our children didn’t complain to the teachers while the incident happened. It is possible that they didn’t complain, because they were scared. But after they came home, the children informed their parents about it. Perhaps one child could misunderstand, but how can seven little children lie about such a thing. Therefore, we have joined in the protest in demand of the removal of management,” added the parent.

While police officials said that the molested children were students of Class 2, the protest saw the participation of parents across all divisions and classes of the school.

#WATCH | Thane, Maharashtra: On the school trip incident, a parent says, “On February 20, when kids from grade 2 were on a picnic, two outsiders also accompanied them which wasn’t informed to any parents. We don’t know the due diligence or the process through which they’re… pic.twitter.com/tJ9vRXKs7p

— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2024

“Why were we not informed about the third party appointed to organise the picnic beforehand? Parents would have thought twice if they had been aware,” added another parent of a school student.

On Thursday, as several parents gathered outside the school gates, a delegation of PTA members and other parents discussed with the school management the demand for the principal’s termination. According to one of the groups, the school management requested two to three days to make a decision, owing to the ongoing board exams, but the parents have refused to budge.

According to the complainants, the incident occurred in the bus despite the presence of three teachers at the time.

Echoing the sentiment of many, a parent said, “What were the teachers doing at the time? We pay high fees to ensure the best care for our children and yet, such an incident has occurred.”

On Wednesday, the principal of the school told The Indian Express that the teachers had been suspended till the time of the enquiry.

“Through the owner of the tour operator, we ensured that the culprit was produced before the police station last night itself and the Kapurbawdi police have arrested him,” added the principal, stating that the school called off all future excursions which had been planned through the tour company.

When contacted on Thursday afternoon, however, the school did not respond to questions.