A two-and-a-half-year-old boy drowned at his play school in Malkajigiri on Tuesday while Children’s Day celebrations were under way.
Shiv Rachith was enrolled earlier this year by his parents at Bachpan School in R.K. Nagar. On Tuesday, the child had come to the school, as always, with his father, Anil Kumar. When his mother Vishala arrived to take him home three hours later, she was told that her son had not come to the school. A frantic search ensued after which the child was spotted floating in one of the sumps in the building.
After being fished out, the boy was rushed to a nearby hospital and then to another health facility, where he was declared dead. The family lodged a complaint with the Malkajigiri police.
“The parents blamed the principal, staff and the management of the school for the death of their son. A case of causing death due to negligence was registered ,” said Malkajigiri Inspector S. Janaki Reddy.
Meanwhile, an irate crowd that had gathered outside the school damaged display boards and demanded swift action against the school’s staff. More than a dozen police personnel were deployed to prevent their entry into the building. Autopsy was performed at the Gandhi Hospital and then the body handed over to the family.
“The staff have been holed up inside the building and do not want to face the bereaved family, to take responsibility for their actions. Why should they be protected?” an inconsolable family member asked press persons gathered outside the school.
When the cops did not allow the family to take the body to protest outside the school, the family proceeded towards Malkajigiri police station and protested, demanding quick action against the school management. The last rites of the boy were performed at a cemetery nearby.
