National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday sought the action taken reports from the Central Council of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Jalna district administration and the Maharashtra Police over allegations that minor children were made to perform an extremist “Pakistani” song during an annual day function at a school in Maharashtra’s Jalna district.Taking cognizance of a complaint, a bench of the NHRC headed by member Priyank Kanoongo acted under section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. The commission ordered the authorities to investigate the allegations and submit reports within two weeks. According to a communication issued by the legal division of the NHRC on Wednesday, notices have been sent to the CBSE chairman, the district magistrate of Jalna and the superintendent of police, Jalna.The complaint relates to an annual day program at Kids World English School in Partur, Jalna district. According to the complainant, “underage children were made to perform a Pakistani extremist song promoting violence, accompanied by a background sample of the terrorist Mumtaz Qadri.”The complainant also alleged that after raising the matter in his capacity as a journalist, he faced action from both the school administration and the local police.“The complainant further alleged that after his journalistic complaint to alert the authorities, both the school administration and the Jalna police launched a campaign of retaliation, issuing formal removal notices to X and threatening him with criminal cases to suppress the investigation,” the NHRC said.Seeking the commission’s intervention, the complainant requested formal knowledge of the alleged extremist content displayed during the school event, an independent investigation into the alleged administrative intimidation, and the protection of investigative journalists from retaliatory law enforcement actions.After examining the complaint, the NHRC observed that the allegations “prima facie appear to be violations of the human rights of the victims”. The commission directed the CBSE chairman, district magistrate and superintendent of police, Jalna, “to have the allegations made in the complaint investigated and submit an action report within two weeks for the perusal of the Commission.”Earlier, a case was registered against the principal and two teachers of the school. The case was registered under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections that deal with acts that affect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, promote enmity between groups, spread misinformation that affects national integration, and the circulation of false information that may cause public alarm.However, the school administration has strongly denied the allegations. Principal Siddiqui said that the music used during the program was from the popular Turkish TV series Ertugrul Ghazi and not a Pakistani song.
