Appeal against school fire verdict: CPI

THANJAVUR:TAMILNADU:31/07/2014:- The members of Communist Party of India(CPI) protest at Thanjavur Railway Junction on Thursday. against judgements of fire accident in Krishna School in Kumbakonam in July 16th, 2004...Photo:M_Moorthy

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has urged the State government to file an appeal against the verdict by the Principal District and Sessions Court, Thanjavur, in the Kumbakonam school fire case, acquitting 11 accused, including eight government officials.

The party staged demonstrations at Kumbakonam, Thanjavur and Pattukottai in support of this and other demands on Thursday.

The protest at Kumbakonam was headed by the party district executive committee member, M.A. Bharathi, near the court.

Mr. Bharathi told

The Hindu on the phone that the verdict was acceptable neither to the party nor to the parents of the victims. The State government, he said, should file an appeal against the verdict, though, the school founder, ‘Pulavar’ R. Palanisamy, was awarded life imprisonment.

The CPI workers urged the State to provide Rs. 25 lakh as compensation to the parents of each of the 94 children who perished in the fire at Sri Krishna Middle School.

Mr. Bharathi said the compensation to students who survived the tragedy should be proportionate to the nature of their wounds.

Even a decade after the incident, there were many schools across the State which did not adhere to safety guidelines, the demonstrators said. The State should monitor such schools at periodic intervals to ensure that they adhered to the norms, Mr. Bharathi said.

At Thanjavur, the demonstration was organised in front of the railway junction. It was led by the party’s district secretary, R. Thirugnanam.