Boy not treated immediately, alleges father

School sent child to hospital on scooter 2 hours later

The parents of a seven-year-old boy, who died after falling off the stairs of a government school at Badli in Outer Delhi, have alleged that the teachers kept the injured child on the school premises for almost two hours.

Later, the boy was sent to a private hospital on a scooter. The parents said they were informed about the incident by their nephew around 4 pm on Monday, whereas the boy had met with the accident around 1:30 pm itself.

“The school teachers or principal did not care to inform us immediately though the school is only around 200 metres from our home. My nephew told me about it,” said Birju Mukhiya, the father of the boy Rohit.

His other son Manish, 11, and his 10-year-old nephew Raja attend the same school. Raja learnt about the incident around 3:30 pm and ran home to inform his uncle.

Following a protest on the school campus on Wednesday, the MCD-run school has been closed till further notice. While the school principal could not be contacted, a teacher told Deccan Herald that they tried their best to save the boy and denied any delay in providing medical aid to the child.  “We immediately informed his parents and rushed him to a private hospital nearby which referred him to a government hospital. The school had no conveyance. A cycle rickshaw would take much time. So we opted for a scooter,” said the teacher.

Residents of the JJ Colony, consisting of a cluster of “jhuggis”, in Badli village, alleged that teachers first gave numerous excuses for the boy vomiting blood. “One teacher said he had eaten carrots and was vomiting that. Another said he was suffering from fits. This delay cost my son his life,” said Mukhiya.

After the boy died despite an operation at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Tuesday, angry residents of Badli village gathered at the school on Wednesday.  Local leaders of all prominent parties joined them.

“There were hundreds of them and were getting violent. We called police who saved us from their ire by locking us in a room for almost four hours,” said the teacher. The locals have demanded that the school authorities be punished for “negligence” and the parents of the victim be amply compensated.

Accidents due to negligence are quite frequent at this school, the locals said. “Four years ago, a six-year-old girl was accidentally locked in a classroom all night. Next morning she was found dead. There have been other comparatively smaller accidents as well,” said Dileep Kumar Singh, Mukhiya’s neighbour.

Another resident alleged that this season teachers were seen weaving sweaters and warming themselves using heaters at school.