Declared ‘illegal’, Kondhwa school says will challenge order via legal means

Pune City Police, however, clarified that the school had no connection with the NIA’s action and school authorities were neither investigated nor questioned in connection with the case. Sheikh pointed out that the school operated from the second and third floor of the building while the NIA had sealed the fourth and fifth floor of the building.

A day after the NIA’s action, education officers of Pune Zilla Parishad and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had visited the school for an inspection. Following the inspection, the Zilla Parishad had issued a statement, declaring that the school was ‘illegal’.

According to a local official, the school was declared illegal after an examination of its documents by authorities showed that a certificate issued by the state Education department was ‘fake’.

The PMC, meanwhile, urged parents not to get their children enrolled in the school and said the existing students would be accommodated in other schools. Sheikh said the order came as a shock to school authorities. “Our documents are in place and this order terming us ‘illegal’ is not right. The school has sent its first batch of 13 students for board examinations this year,” she said.

Most of the students at Blue Bells School are from lower middle-class background, said Sheikh.

Given the Akshaya Tritiya and Eid holidays, many parents were not able to contact the school authorities this weekend. “Parents are worried but we will be able to take action only after meeting them on Monday. But we will take some action for sure,” she said.