Two people have been sent to jail in Uttar Pradesh after recording and sharing a video highlighting alleged poor conditions at a government school in Meerut, while FIRs have also been registered against members of the Justice Morcha and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over similar allegations of unauthorised entry and recording at government schools.
The incidents have emerged amid a growing campaign by youth groups and political organisations to highlight alleged deficiencies in government schools across the state.
In Meerut, advocate Sanyam Panchal, son of Congress leader Jitendra Panchal, and his friend Ayan Mirza recorded a government school in Sardhana, located around 300 metres from the SDM office.
The video showed government textbooks allegedly lying discarded in a room, with some of the books reportedly damaged and deteriorating. The video also showed a non-functional ceiling fan, damp walls, a hand pump and an open drain running through the school campus.
Panchal and Mirza also claimed that the office of the block education officer was located on the same campus despite the alleged condition of the books and facilities.
Following the video’s circulation, Sardhana’s Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Sudarshan Lal, submitted a complaint at the local police station against the two men, alleging that they had created a misleading video.
After questioning, the two were booked under provisions relating to breach of peace and produced before an SDM court, which sent them to jail.
Justice Morcha member booked
In another case, an FIR has been registered against Justice Morcha member Rajat Singh in Deoria following a complaint by the block education officer of Gauri Bazar.
Singh, who has been travelling across the state as part of the organisation’s campaign on education and employment, had recorded and shared videos highlighting alleged deficiencies at four government schools.
One of the videos, recorded on August 16 at a school in Damarbhiswa village, allegedly showed shortcomings on the campus. Singh also claimed that a panchayat building was located within the school premises and that a temple was being constructed there.
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