The child rights panel in the state has taken up a probe into the death of a seven-year-old, who fell into a cauldron of sambar in his school in Bijapur a month ago.
A social activist, who informed the matter to the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), claimed that a concerted effort was on in that district to hush up the death of Shreedhar Sharannappa Bhushnur, a first standard student.
The accident happened at the Kannada Boys School in Sidhgi taluk of Devana Gaon in Bijapur.
The sambar was prepared as part of the mid-day meal scheme. According to the social activist, A Narasimha, the boy, along with a crowd of children, was watching the meal being prepared, when someone pushed him into the cauldron on October 1.
Shreedhar suffered extensive burns, and was admitted to the Government Hospital in Sholahpur, where he died four days later.
“The head master CA Kulkarni and assistant head master SM Mudhol were suspended, and the school shut down after the incident. The students of are now shifted to the girls school and the teachers transferred to various places,” Narasimha said.
The education department ordered the teachers to make a compensation of Rs1 lakh to the child’s family, and the local MLA, Ramesh Bhusnur, also a distant relative of the child, paid an equal sum.
“Despite the accident, such negligence is seen in other schools. So I registered a complaint with the KSCPCR in Bangalore,” the activist said.
The KSCPCR has taken up the matter with the department of education. “The death was not taken seriously since it took place in Bijapur.
We are enquiring to see what has happened in the case so far. The police said that the investigation is complete. We are seeking reports into the enquiry and the outcome of the case,” Mamatha MR, a member of the KSCPCR said.
Narasimha alleged that Shreedhar was a victim of negligence by the education department.
The schools, though asked to prepare food in smaller vessels outside the educational institutions, have been flouting the rule, especially in rural areas.
The activist said Shreedhar would have been alive if the food was cooked in a smaller vessel.
Another activist, who requested anonymity, said suspending the teachers was not a solution. He called for a proper enquiry and the setting up of guidelines to avoid the recurrence of such tragedies.
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