Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday raised questions over the management of a private school in Delhi’s Janakpuri area and alleged irregularities related to records maintained at the Sub Registrar’s office.
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, Bharadwaj referred to the case involving the alleged rape of a three-year-old student by a school official and said concerns remained over the handling of the matter.
He said the child was taken to hospital after her condition worsened and claimed the family continued to face difficulties following the incident.
Referring to the medical examination conducted at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Bharadwaj alleged that doctors had informed the family about injuries sustained by the child, though certain details were allegedly not reflected in the final medical report. He further claimed that the child later developed an infection and remained under treatment.
Questions over trust records
Bharadwaj said details related to changes in trustees of educational trusts are generally available through the Sub Registrar’s office, but alleged that records connected to the school trust could not be traced during an inspection request.
According to him, the school is run by the SS Mota Singh (Nila) Charitable Trust, which he claimed owns several properties across Delhi.
He also referred to recent changes in the trust’s trustees and named Amarjeet Singh, Dr Virendra Kumar Aggrawal, Swati Garg and Manish Gupta in this context.
Facebook post allegation
The AAP leader also mentioned a Facebook post allegedly made by Amarjeet Singh Babbu, whom he described as being associated with BJP leaders.
According to Bharadwaj, the post thanked a Delhi minister for appointing him as a trustee of the charitable trust linked to the school. He claimed the post was later deleted and questioned whether there were political links connected to the trust.
Bharadwaj further alleged that the victim’s parents had seen school manager Manjeet Singh Aulakh at the police station during their visits there. He claimed Aulakh was close to another BJP leader and said this had raised concerns for the family.
Targeting Delhi education minister Ashish Sood, Bharadwaj said the school is located in Janakpuri, near Sood’s residence, and alleged that a government-supported event had been organised at the premises earlier this year.
He urged the Delhi government to make the trust-related records public.
The Delhi government and BJP leaders named in the allegations have not issued a public response at the time of filing this report.
Police stance and investigation
Delhi Police has maintained that the investigation in the case has been conducted in a “fair, professional and impartial manner”. According to police, the alleged incident came to light on May 1 after the child’s mother filed a complaint at Janakpuri police station, alleging that her three-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted during school hours on April 30, the second day after her admission to the school, news agency PTI reported.
Police said the child later identified a 57-year-old school caretaker as the accused, following which he was arrested on May 1 and sent to judicial custody. A case was registered under Section 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
Police officials said CCTV footage, DVRs and other evidence were seized during the investigation. The accused was granted bail by a Dwarka court on May 7 despite opposition from the prosecution. Delhi Police has said it will challenge the bail order before the Delhi high court.
On Thursday, a female teacher from the school was also arrested in connection with the case and sent to one-day police custody for questioning. Police denied allegations of intimidation made by the victim’s family and AAP leaders, stating that the child and her family were provided a child-friendly environment during the inquiry process, as per ANI. The force also rejected claims by AAP leaders regarding communication from the Lieutenant Governor’s office over meetings linked to the case.
(With agency inputs)
