Cops helpless in school scandal case

Say no one has come forward to file complaint, sting operation under scrutiny

NEW DELHI: A day after agitated parents went on rampage in Central Delhi's Daryaganj area, after a television channel showed how Uma Khurana, a teacher at the school, had been running a sex racket by forcing students into prostitution, the police expressed their helplessness in finding details on the case.

They said no student or parent from the school has come forward to file a complaint. The police have filed a suo moto FIR, charging Khurana of immoral trafficking. The police have also arrested 18 people (mainly street hoodlums) from the Daryaganj area, on charges of rioting and destruction of public property.

Meanwhile, the role of Live India, the channel which aired the sting is being scrutinised by the police. The police had arrested, Khurana, a teacher at the Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya's Daryaganj branch, after the mob violence on Thursday.

But the police and the parents claim that the channel's approach in broadcasting the expose was wrong. It is believed the channel had conducted the sting over a month back, when Khurana was a teacher at the Vivek Vihar branch of the school.

"We have asked Live India to handover the unedited version of the sting to us. Their approach has been wrong. The alleged human trafficking case may have continued while this channel completed its 'packaging' work on the expose, they didn't find it important to inform the police of the goings-on. We will question the people who conducted the sting," said Ashok Saxena, assistant commissioner of police (Central District).

Parents too are angry against the channel's approach. "The sting on Khurana was conducted when she was working with another branch of the school, broadcasting it now would have an adverse effect on students of the Daryaganj branch. People would look at our girls with suspicion now. What has the channel achieved by this expose, couldn't they have aired the expose shortly after conducting it," said Rizwan Alam, a parent.

However, Uday Chandra Singh, assistant executive producer with Live India believes that "the channel dealt with the issue sensitively."

When asked on why the channel chose to sit on the expose, he said, "It isn't like we conducted the sting just when she was teaching at Vivek Vihar, we followed her activities at the Daryaganj branch too. Our channel was launched only three weeks back and we aired the expose as soon as things were in place."