Mumbai: Samaritans spot missing child; but school says: contact parents

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Shweta Jain thought she knew where her three-year-old was - where else would she be on a Tuesday morning but in school? But an hour after she watched her daughter board the bus to her school in Chembur, her husband got a call from a stranger, informing them he had seen the toddler crying on the footpath in Kurla.

"We were at home when my husband received the call. We could not believe what we had heard, as I had watched Anushi boarding the school bus that morning," recalled Shweta.

Their daughter, Anushi, 3, is a nursery student at Green Acre school in Chembur. She was found on the footpath in Nehru Nagar, which was a whole 7 km away from the school and wasn't even on the bus route.

"We called the school first to verify what was happening. Only after our call did the school authorities check her class and realise that she was absent. We immediately rushed to Kurla to pick up our child. We are very fortunate that our daughter is safe," said the mother, expressing her gratitude to the caller who found her daughter.

Angry parents gather at Govandi police station to protest over the school's negligence

The good Samaritan, Rajesh Shah, runs a general store with his brother right where Arushi was spotted. Since his son studies in the same school, he recognised the uniform.

"From my shop, I spotted the little girl crying, and rushed there immediately. She was so scared, she could not answer questions properly. I immediately brought her to our shop, where my brother and I tried to calm her down. I called the school's landline, but was shocked when the official responded that I should contact the parents instead. I then called the number on the child's ID card and spoke to her father," said Shah.

"Understandably, her parents did not believe me at first. They thought their daughter was in school, and Nehru Nagar is nowhere near it. But once they confirmed it with the school, they rushed to my shop. Both of them were crying and distressed," he said, further adding, "I am immensely happy that I was able to help the family. I read news reports about unfortunate incidents every day, and am glad that I was able to avoid one here."

Rajesh Shah found the toddler and reunited her with her parents

What happened

According to Shweta, Anushi had fallen asleep on the bus, and the attendant forgot about her. Once the other kids alighted at the school, the bus headed to Kurla for some work. It was parked at Nehru Nagar, where Anushi woke up. Out of habit, she exited the bus but got scared upon realising that she was in an unfamiliar place. After walking on the footpath for a while, she started crying and was found by Shah.

Shah added that while her parents turned up soon after he called, the bus driver got there around 9.15 am, but the school authorities only arrived around 10 am. The Jains and Shah both called out the school's negligence.

Shweta said, "Anushi was crying inconsolably after we were renuited. She told me that she was afraid of getting lost again, and so she did not want to go to school anymore.

"We took her home and then rushed to the police station to lodge a complaint against the school. But the school authorities have assured us of immediate action in the matter, promising more stringent regulations for students' safety. We want this assurance in writing, along with an apology letter, within 24 hours, otherwise we will lodge an FIR against the school," said Anushi's father, Piyush, while waiting at Govandi police station.

Other parents angry too
Shah said, "My child studies in the same school, and if this is their approach towards safety, it is a matter of concern." The incident caused major anger among other parents at the high-profile school as well. Several of them arrived at the police station in solidarity with the Jains, and laid out a list of issues with the school's transport services.

"It is a mandatory bus service by the school for all children, for which they charge heavily. The least we can expect is the safety of our children. It is very irresponsible of the lady attendant to forget a child. What is the point of having a lady attendant and CCTV cameras when our kids are still not safe? They charge us anywhere between Rs 24,000 and Rs 36,000 per year," said one of the parents.

Another added, "How could the school not notice that the child was absent, even though she was marked present on the bus? The school should have at least been sensitive enough to swing into action upon finding out what had happened."

School says
Rachana Laxminarayanan, school principal, said, "It was an unfortunate incident, and we support the parents. We rushed to the spot as soon as we got to know about it. The attendant was unwell today, so there was a human error, as she did not switch on the CCTV surveillance. We are going to terminate the services of the bus contractor. A meeting will be held with parents to understand their concerns regarding transport services, to make appropriate changes."

Expertspeak
There is no clarity on who should be held responsible for the incident, since the school bus policy does not apply to playgroups or nurseries. Social activist Indrani Malkhani, who was an integral part of the committee that formed the school bus policy, explained, "The school bus policy is applicable to buses running for schools. School starts from Std I, so buses for lower classes can't be called schoolbuses."

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