Murud tragedy: clip showing ‘rude’ authorities goes viral

Video of senior college staff 'verbally abusing' victims' families goes viral.

Amid bitter recrimination about responsibility for the Murud beach tragedy in which 14 students from the city's Abeda Inamdar College tragically drowned, a video clip purportedly showing high-handed and insensitive behavior on part of college authorities towards the grieving parents has now gone viral on social media sites.

The clip, taken on Wednesday, shows PA Inamdar, president, Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society which runs the college, sternly reprimanding parents of the deceased children to “lower their voices” as the distraught parents are seeing asking him for an explanation.

Parents are seen questioning Mr Inamdar on the “negligence” by the 11 college guardians, eight teachers and three staffers who failed to dissuade students from entering the waters on Monday. The clip, shared widely on WhatsApp, also shows Mr Inamdar allegedly losing his cool and urging the college peons to drive the parents out of the meeting room.

Tempers ran high after Wednesday’s condolence meet organised by the college, when victims’ parents accosted Mr Inamdar. Parents have been repeatedly accusing the college authorities of “gross insensitivity” and openly stating that they were “unceremoniously” driven out of Mr Inamdar’s room when they sought an explanation.

Some parents have also alleged that college authorities, far from issuing an apology, did not even pay for the ambulance. “I had to travel to Murud to fetch my daughter’s body…the college did nothing. We paid for the ambulance in which my daughter’s body was brought to the city,” said Shakila Sayyad, mother of Safin Sayyad.

“There is no question of issuing any apology. The college has done its utmost to help parents in the wake of the tragedy. The college arranged for ambulances...two ministers and a Superintendent of Police were present at the spot. Never before has a rescue operation been mounted on such a scale,” said Mr Inamdar.

He categorically refuted allegations of insensitivity on the part of college authorities, and said an inquiry committee headed by a retired principal has been set up to look into the role of the teachers and staffers who accompanied over 115 students on the picnic. Meanwhile, heavy police deployment continued on the college premises to avert any untoward incident.

I had to travel to Murud to fetch my daughter’s body…the college did nothingShakila SayyadVictim Safin’s mother