BHOPAL: Under fire over the alleged gangrape of a 19-year-old woman while she was returning from coaching classes, the Madhya Pradesh government is mulling over directing private educational centres to wind up teaching activities by 8 pm, or ensure safety of students leaving after that.
The woman was allegedly abducted and raped by four men near railway tracks in the vicinity of the Habibganj train station here on the night of October 31, when she was returning home after attending her coaching classes.
"We are going to hold a meeting with the people running private education centres and coaching institutes shortly," Minister of State for School Education Deepak Joshi told PTI.
He said they would tell the owners of the institutes that if they want to remain open after 8 pm, then they should keep a tab on the safety of the students.
"Using smartphones, the owners of the centres and institutions can keep a tab on their students. We are going to ask them to do so," the minister said.
"Our IT team has suggested that it was not a tough task to keep a watch on the students using smartphones after 8 pm," he said.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) had arrested three men while another accused is on the run.
The woman reportedly made rounds of various police stations to lodge an FIR but was allegedly turned away over 'jurisdiction' of the crime. She was able to file her complaint two days after the incident.
Following the public outrage, five police officers were suspended and three transferred.