By IANS,
New Delhi: Terming the so-called bravery stunts by children in which motorcyclists rode over the outstretched hands of kids a violation of child and human rights, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Thursday sought a full report on the matter and action against the school authorities.
Acting on its own after seeing media reports on the incident, the NHRC has asked the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu to submit a factual report within four weeks.
“The commission has taken a suo motu cognisance of media reports which alleged that an elementary municipal school at Keezhperumpakkam in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu organised an event of bravery show in which a motor cyclist rode over the outstretched hands of young students aged about 10 years July 16,” an NHRC official said.
“In another such stunt, the motorcyclist rode over a wooden plank placed on a girl lying on the floor. The show was a part of a ceremony organised in the memory of Congress leader K. Kamaraj. Keeping all this in mind, NHRC has issued a notice to the chief secretary,” the official added.
“This is a violation of human rights of the students as they were reportedly exposed to a high risk of being hurt during the stunts,” the official added.
The NCPCR Thursday also issued a notice to state officials and asked them to take action against the school authorities.
The panel said they had requested the Villupuram district collector to further investigate the matter.
According to Sandhya Bajaj, member at the commission, who sent the notice: “It is a shocking incident. How could the school authorities allow such a practice. The children are voiceless and cannot even protest when the school wants them to do something like this.”
“This is not bravery but an act of cowardice. We need to condemn such acts and that’s why we have issued a notice,” Bajaj told IANS.
“How could parents and teachers watch and remain silent about it? This is a gross violation of child rights,” she added.
The child rights panel said that the report should be sent to the commission about what action has been taken against the school headmaster and the authorities.