DCW serves notice to school, slams authorities for not verifying employees

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has sent a notice to the school in Gandhinagar where a fiveyear-old girl was raped on Saturday, stating that a reply must be filed by Wednesday.

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal assured that the Commission is helping the survivor's family with all legal and other necessary support.

The Commission also approached the Delhi government asking it to urgently formulate guidelines for safety of children in schools.

"What will parents do if a horrific crime occurs in school? DCW is issuing a notice to this school and our team is assisting the victim," said the DCW chief.

In the notice, the Commission asked that whether or not the accused was an employee of the school, and also inquired about his assigned role.

It stated that details of his police verification should be submitted to the Commission.

DCW also asked the school to reveal records of the accused, which the school must have obtained during his background check.

"We want to know whether the school was aware of the incident. If yes, inform the steps taken by the school against the accused person, whether police was informed by the school," the notice observed.

In its instructions, the DCW noted that the school's response should include sequential details of the events.

If the school holds regular counselling sessions with other students to know whether similar incidents have occurred, it should also submit that report, said the DCW notice.

Maliwal observed that a list of male contract workers, teaching and nonteaching, in the school along with their designation, and which employees have access to girls students should also be submitted.

Finally, the notice stated: "Copy of the entire CCTV footage of the day of the incident from the school should be submitted."

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal assured that the Commission is helping the survivor's family with all necessary support