Photos show girls cleaning toilets at govt school in MP's Guna; minister orders probe
Guna (MP), Sep 22: Photographs showing girl students cleaning toilets at a government school in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district appeared in the local media on Thursday, prompting state panchayat minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia to order a probe.
The incident came to light when reports in this regard surfaced in the media with photos of girls in uniform cleaning toilets at a primary and middle school located in Chakdevpur village in the district, an official said.
As the images found their way to social media platforms, state minister Sisodia directed the Guna district collector to probe the matter and take action against guilty officials, he said.
The media reports suggested the girls were students of Classes 5 and 6. In the photos, they were seen holding brooms in their hands and cleaning toilets by fetching water from a hand pump in the school premises.
Both primary and middle sections of the school are being run from the same campus in the village.
A team of the school education department also reached the school on Thursday to conduct a separate probe in the matter, the official said.
The incident took place on Tuesday when the school principal was away in Guna town to attend an official meeting, he said.
We have taken the matter very seriously and are probing the issue. Action will be taken against those found guilty in the matter, the education department's deputy director, Chandra Shekhar Sisodia, said.
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Malegaon blast case: After repeated warnings, Pragya appears before court to record statement
Mumbai, Apr 25: BJP's Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, who is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, on Thursday finally appeared before a special court here to record her final statement in connection with the case.
On several occasions in the past, Thakur had failed to appear before the court on the grounds of medical illness. This prompted the special court to issue a warning, saying if Thakur fails to appear before it on April 25, then she would face action.
On Thursday, Thakur appeared before the special court hearing cases probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), but claimed she was still unwell.
Thakur submitted to the court her statement in a question-answer format. She also filed an application seeking permission to put her thumb impression on the statement as she was unable to sign the paper due to sudden loss of strength in her palms.
The court permitted the same.
Thakur, along with six others, is facing trial in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act, Indian Arms Act, and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The court is currently recording the statements of the accused under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). These are final statements of the accused before final arguments are made and the case is closed for judgment.
Special court judge A K Lahoti posted the matter for further recording of the statement on Friday.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in Nashik district of north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
The case was initially probed by Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Last month, after she failed to appear before it, the special court had issued a bailable warrant against Thakur. She later personally appeared before the court, following which the warrant was cancelled.
The court in the past had warned Thakur of action when she failed to appear before it to record her statement.
