If children are not safe, India isn't either: Kailash Satyarthi

Trivandrum (Kerala) [India], September 12 (ANI): Nobel laureate and social activist Kailash Satyarthi on Tuesday said that no matter how rich India's culture is or how large the democracy is, if the children of the country are not safe, the nation is not either.

Satyarthi's statement came in the light of the recent gruesome killing of the seven-year-old student at the Ryan International School, after which a bus conductor was nabbed for killing the child.

"We are the oldest and the greatest culture, one of the greatest cultures of the world. Definitely, we are the largest democracy of the world. But if the children in India are in danger, India is in danger; if our children are not safe, India is not safe," Satyarthi said, while addressing school students here.

He said that he wouldn't stop fighting for the rights of the children till the time, the children of the nation are safe and are not raped or abused.

Amid raging protests over the killing of a seven-year-old student at the Ryan International School, the state government also issued an order, stating that all campuses of the afore-mentioned school will be closed till September 12.

Meanwhile, in a move to tackle protests, an additional security has been deployed across all campuses of the school.

A complaint was also filed on Monday against the Vasant Kunj branch of the Ryan International School citing several security lapses.

The parents, whose children are studying in the Vasant Kunj branch of the Ryan International School filed a first information report in the Vasant Kunj Police Station in this regard.

The parents mentioned several drawbacks in their complaint.

In the FIR, it was mentioned that the CCTV cameras were dysfunctional and that the hygiene of children was being compromised.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to look into the murder case of the seven-year-old Gurugram student pointed out serious security lapses in the school.

The SIT averred that the school did not have any separate toilets for staff like drivers and conductors, while adding that the administration even did not get their employees identification verified.

The report by the investigative team also highlighted that the CCTV cameras of the school weren't working properly and were not installed everywhere. Also, the fire extinguishers were expired. It was also revealed that the school establishment had broken boundary walls.

The report further said that there were no separate toilets for conductors and drivers and the wall behind the school remained unfinished which easily allowed anyone to enter the school premises without permission.

The report also added that a proper police verification of employees working at Ryan International School was not done by the school authorities.

The school's bus conductor was nabbed on Friday after the body of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was found inside the toilet of the high-profile school, with his throat slit, following which the school's principal was suspended. (ANI)