Suspicious death of a 15-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh Government Tribal Welfare Ashram (Boys) School in Paderu mandal has sparked controversy in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. Members of A.P. Girijan Sangham and several student unions from ASR district have staged protests alleging negligence on the part of the school management and the Tribal Welfare Department resulting in the death of the teenager, at G.Madugula, the hometown of the deceased, here on Saturday. A number of protestors were detained by the police personnel.
As per the members of the Girijana Sangham, the student, S. Suri Babu (15), was studying Class VII in AP Government Tribal Welfare Ashram School at Dokuluru in Paderu mandal. When the student had informed the school authorities that he was suffering from fever and other health issues, the management instead of providing treatment had sent him to his house at G. Madugula, said member of APGS, P. Appalanarasayya. After undergoing treatment, the student died on December 2, he added. He also condemned detaining the tribal leaders during the protests.
He also alleged that three students died in the last one month in Paderu mandal due to the negligence of the government. Apart from Suri Babu, a girl from Gurukul College run by the Tribal Welfare Department in Paderu died recently, while two weeks ago, a 12-year-old boy P. Naveen was found dead near the school under suspicious circumstances at Paderu. Such incidents are being repeated due to lack of monitoring and apathy from the authorities, he alleged.
Mr. Appalanarasayya also stated that the authorities had claimed that they have clear instructions not to allow any unions into the school premises owing to security reasons. “Due to such restrictions, we are unable to find out what type of food is being provided to the students and how are the security measures and sanitation,” he said.
‘Probe launched’
When contacted, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Project Officer R. Gopala Krishna said that he had come to know about the incident late on Friday night and has launched an inquiry. Officers from the Tribal Welfare Department have gone to the native place of the student on Saturday for fact-finding.
“Once the report comes, if there is any negligence from the school management, we would definitely initiate strict action,” Mr. Gopala Krishna said, expressing grief over the incident.
Despite two weeks have gone by, the suspicious death case of 12-year-old P. Naveen is yet to be resolved. His body was found with several injury marks near the compound wall of the school at Cinema Hall Centre on November 16. Paderu police have registered a case.
