A six-year-old Class 1 student of a government school in Hyderabad died when the main gate of the compound fell on him while he was returning home on Monday evening, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The incident happened at government zilla parishad high school at Hayathnagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The school is located on a sprawling campus, which houses primary and high school sections, besides an Urdu medium school, they added.
“The deceased was identified as Alakanti Ajay. His parents are engaged as garbage collection workers of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Based on the victim’s father Chandu, we have booked a case against the school authorities under section 194 of the BNSS (inquiry into the cause of suspicious death),” Hayatnagar inspector of police P Nagaraju Goud said.
The incident sparked an outrage in the area as family members, relatives and local residents protested outside the school on Tuesday, accusing the school authorities of negligence. They alleged lack of proper maintenance of the school gate and demanded action against the school authorities.
“The heavy school gate was apparently erected only a few months ago. It is a case of sheer negligence of the school authorities during the erection of the gate, due to which it collapsed. It was a preventable incident,” a local resident said on condition of anonymity.
Police and the district education department authorities held a meeting with the family members and the other protesters and assured that they would take stringent action against those who were responsible for the poor quality of work of the school gate.
According to the Goud, Ajay and other children were swinging on the gate while coming out of the campus after the school hours. “The hinges of the seven-feet metallic gate came off, resulting in the collapse. While other students managed to escape, the gate fell on the Ajay’s head, causing severe injuries,” he said.
The school authorities immediately rushed the boy first to a private hospital and from there to the area hospital, Vanasthalipuram, where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in the night.
Goud said that the body was sent to Osmania General Hospital for post-mortem examination.
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