Three missing schoolgirls traced in Meerut; warden, dismissed

Three Class 7 girls who went missing from Kasturba Gandhi Girls Residential School in Bhooni village, Meerut, on Thursday evening were located late Friday night in Jagriti Vihar under the Medical Police Station area. The incident prompted swift administrative action, with the hostel warden Reena Kumari and a full-time teacher removed from service for negligence.

District magistrate Vijay Kumar Singh directed their immediate dismissal and instructed the basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) to lodge a complaint seeking an FIR for dereliction of duty. The Sarurpur block education officer (BEO) Ajay Kumar has been transferred, while two female home guards posted at the school have been relieved of their duties.

Senior superintendent of police Vipin Tada confirmed that the girls were found at 11 pm on Friday. “Five teams were deployed for the search. The students were located safely and are being questioned to ascertain the reasons behind their disappearance,” he said.

A show-cause notice has been issued to BSA Asha Chaudhary and district coordinator for girls’ education Nempal Singh, who now face the possibility of termination pending the outcome of an investigation.

Chief development officer Nupur Goyal and additional district magistrate (administration) Balram Singh have been appointed to conduct an inquiry and submit a detailed report to the state government.

During an inspection of the school, state women’s commission member Meenakshi Bharala described the facility’s condition as “extremely poor.” She observed that the CCTV surveillance system was not operational due to a faulty inverter.

School staff informed Bharala that one of the missing girls had been found using a mobile phone earlier on Thursday, after which the acting warden Reena Kumari reprimanded them. The students are believed to have left the premises unnoticed soon after.

Despite the presence of a night watchman, daytime guards, and other support staff, the students exited the campus without detection. The school has ten contractual teachers and a non-teaching staff that includes three cooks, an accountant, and a sanitation worker.

The students’ families have criticised the school administration and the police for lack of transparency. “The police handed over our daughters without telling us where they were or what had happened,” said one parent. He also claimed the school delayed informing officials, with the CDO receiving the first intimation only at 9:40 pm, several hours after the girls were last seen.

The case initially registered as a kidnapping under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), is now focused on the accountability of the school authorities. Further action is expected once the role of district coordinator Nempal Singh is reviewed.