TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The seven-year-old Vasco school girl rape completes one year. Though the government gave a lot of assurances after the hue and cry, nothing much has changed since then, except that school security has been tightened now with every visitor being asked to write down all the details into a book.
But lessons have still not learnt since the identity proof of the person was not asked, leaving a gap in the entire security apparatus.
When this reporter entered, the purpose of visit was entered as official for trying to know whether the school has learnt lessons from the incident.
School Principal Jyoti Bandodkar when contacted literally bailed herself out from replying any questions claiming that “she is getting late and missing the bus.” The presence of stranger was not of concern for the head of this school. The principal advised: you should have come here when incident happened or after that, not now.
Hanging her bag to the shoulder she rushed out almost in fear even refusing to know why the reporter was present there. Similar attitude was imminent on the day of the incident when the criminal who was apparently a stranger was just asked to leave the school without even trying to know why he was there.
This school with the compound wall and visibly tightly guarded institution has two gates which are locked while main gate is manned by paramilitary force man.
The parents are asked to wait outside the gate and third eye (CCTV camera) is recording footage of everyone entering in. Who monitors it, is a question which this reporter wanted to ask to the Principal who literally fled from the queries.
The security stops parents outside the gate but there is no control over as to whether child is picked up by a right person or not.
