EWS scam: DCP to probe IO role

New Delhi: A trial court on Monday ordered a deputy commissioner of police to probe the allegations that an officer investigating the EWS scam had not only pressurised a school management to admit children of cops but also threatened the authority for failing to do so.
Chief metropolitan magistrate Ashish Aggarwal ordered the probe after the investigating officer (IO) denied the allegations and the prosecution termed them "absolutely false" and "frivolous".Challenging the allegations made by the principal of DPS Rohini, Vibha Singh, the prosecutor said the plea was aimed at "demoralising" the IO who was being "hounded" for diligently doing his duty. He had never misused his position and demanded any such favour, the public prosecutor argued.
Admitting that the veracity of allegations should be tested, he claimed that the officer could not be blamed even "if some police officers or other persons" had approached the school for any admission under the economically weaker section (EWS) category. The "falsehood of allegations" was evident from the fact that Singh had made only "verbal" allegations to avoid taking any responsibility for her statements, he added.
Singh's counsel, however, said the principal was ready to put the allegations in writing. He claimed that they had ample material to show how the IO had misused his position to "secure extraneous benefits".
Asking the DCP to file a report in a month, the court said, "A probe needs to be carried out in an impartial manner to ensure that no innocent person is saddled with criminal liability and at the same time no guilty person is let off." The court also issued notices to 22 other schools under the scam scanner, asking them if the IO or any other cop had "pressurised" them. It said this needed to be done to "ensure that investigation is not used as a tool" to gain personal benefits.
The principal had alleged that the IO had been acting "maliciously" as the school did not "accede" to his request of admitting three children-two of police officers and the other of his sister. The court also directed the DCP to find out if these parents were in touch with the IO.
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 makes it compulsory for all private unaided recognised schools to keep at least 25% of their seats for EWS children. Last year, the crime branch busted a module in connection with these admissions.