NRI Coastal police has registered a case against the principal and management of a private school from Seawoods after they llegedly isolated a 5-year-old student in the daycare facility without food or water, instead of allowing him to attend his regular class over non-payment of Rs 1000 of the school fee. The school reportedly took this action under the assumption that his fees had not been paid. However, the child’s parents claim they had already paid the fees and Rs 1000 was the pending amount.

The incident happened on January 28, when the junior KG student was not allowed to join his classmates from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm. Instead, he was kept alone in the daycare. According to the complaint registered, when his father arrived to pick him up, he was informed that his son had been taken away by the principal due to outstanding fees. Upon questioning, the principal initially stated that the child was in the restroom. However, the father later saw his son emerging from the daycare, and when asked, the child revealed that he had been left alone without food or water.

The father has also alleged that he demanded CCTV footage from the school, but the authorities initially refused to provide it. After police intervention, the footage was reviewed, confirming that not only their child but another student had also been confined in the daycare without food and water.

According to the parents, they had already paid the Rs 42,000 fee in July 2024. However, when they confronted the school about the incident, they were informed that Rs 1,000 was still pending. The father immediately cleared the amount, but were outraged to learn that the school had a policy of keeping students out of class and isolating them in daycare if any portion of the fee remained unpaid, the complaint stated.

Following the incident, the father filed a complaint at the NRI Police Station, citing violations under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. “The sections have punishment under seven years and hence no arrest is required in these cases as per the Supreme Court guidelines. We would be serving the management with a notice,” deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Dahane said.