13 February,2020 07:40 AM IST | Karnataka | Arita Sarkar
This picture has been used for representational purposes
Even as school principal Fareeda Begum and a student's mother Nazbunnis continue to languish in jail, an advocate has filed a PIL in Karnataka High Court demanding a departmental inquiry into the "illegal questioning" of students by the Bidar police.
The police questioned the students of Shaheen School in connection with a sedition case they filed over a play against the CAA. The HC is likely to hear the matter later this week.
Nayana Jhawar, 39, a corporate lawyer in Bengaluru, filed the public interest litigation (PIL) on February 7 to ensure that the police are held accountable for their actions. "I am a mother of a six -year-old. By interrogating the children, police violated their rights under the CrPC and the Juvenile Justice Act. I'm surprised that no action has been taken [against police] so far," she said.
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Jhawar, in her PIL, has also asked for compensation to the parents or legal guardians of the students who the police questioned repeatedly, for causing them "emotional and mental trauma". "The police disregarded the rules that mandate parents' presence while questioning the child. Besides the seven participants of the play, the police also questioned other students and created an atmosphere of fear in the school," she said.
She has also appealed to the HC to direct the police to stop further questioning of the students. The Bidar police had ceased interrogation after the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights pulled up them up.
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