Principal Of Haryana School Where 8-Year-Old Assaulted Girl, 6, Suspended

Facing mounting questions over the safety of children in government schools following the brutal assault on a six-year-old girl at a Panchkula school, the Haryana Government on Sunday suspended the school principal, Neelu, with immediate effect.

Neelu was serving as the principal of Shaheed Major Anuj Rajput Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School in Sector 20, Panchkula, where a Class III student allegedly assaulted a kindergarten girl inside the school premises on October 28. The incident left the six-year-old seriously injured and triggered widespread outrage after CCTV footage of the assault surfaced.

The suspension order was issued by the Secondary Education Department under Rule 5 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016. Signed by Vijay Singh Dahiya, Principal Secretary to the Haryana Government, the order also directed that the principal's headquarters during the suspension period would be the office of the District Education Officer, Ambala. She will not be allowed to leave the headquarters without permission from the competent authority.

The development comes amid a widening investigation into alleged negligence by the school administration. Panchkula Police have registered an FIR against the principal, the class in-charge and a school chowkidar under relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Earlier, the Education Department had suspended two Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers, identified as Simranjeet Kaur and Pooja Rani, in connection with the incident. The action followed preliminary findings pointing towards alleged lapses in supervision and the school's responsibility for ensuring children's safety.

What Happened Inside The School?

The incident took place on October 28 when an eight-year-old Class III student allegedly took the six-year-old KG student to a classroom and attacked her. According to reports, the girl was repeatedly hit with a brick and other objects, dragged and kicked before being left unconscious. The assault was captured on CCTV cameras installed inside the school.

The injured girl was initially taken to a hospital and later shifted to PGIMER, Chandigarh, where she received treatment. She regained consciousness after nearly 40 hours and was subsequently reported to be out of danger.

The incident raised serious questions about how a young child could be subjected to such an attack inside a school without timely intervention from the staff.

The Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also took cognisance of the incident and sought a detailed report from the education authorities regarding the circumstances of the assault, supervision arrangements and action taken against those responsible.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Government constituted a five-member inquiry committee headed by the Panchkula Additional Deputy Commissioner to investigate the incident. The government also announced a comprehensive safety audit of schools across the state.

Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda has maintained that strict action would be taken against anyone found responsible for negligence.