10-year-old GD Goenka Student Dies After ‘Falling Down’ in School
A 10-year-old child died, allegedly after ‘falling down’ from the corridor of G D Goenka Public School in Indirapuram on Tuesday. The boy named Arman Sehgal, was dropped off to the school by his father, Gulshan Sehgal, at 7.30 am.
A FIR against the school principal and administration has been registered on the premise of a complaint filed by the child’s father. ‘His father, a resident of Vaishali in Ghaziabad, has accused the principal and management for the death of his son in the corridor, negligence on part of the school, and destruction of evidence. An FIR under IPC sections 304 (causing death by negligence) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) has been registered,’ said Akash Tomar, SP City, Ghaziabad.
Gulshan says he got a call from the school authorities as soon as he reached home. ‘They said my son had ‘fallen down’ and was being taken to Shanti Gopal Hospital,’ said the boy’s mother, Swati Sehgal. Arman, who got wounds on his head, was declared dead at the hospital, as reported by the police.
Tomar said that while the post-mortem has been conducted, the report is awaited. He included that the kid maintained head injuries. As per the police reports, Arman’s classroom, 4D, is on the second floor. Arman kept his bag in the classroom after reaching the school and took out his stationery box to head to another class for a weekly unit test. The spot where he fell is at a distance from his from his classroom.
The family of the boy has alleged carelessness on the part of the school authorities. Swati Sehgal, the boy’s mother said, ‘nobody informed us during the time of the incident. Later, they told us they were taking my son to the hospital. They say he fell and urinated on himself. But I am sure there was water on the floor where he slipped. The school management is hiding this fact. The class teacher was brought into the picture after repeated requests. She told us Arman fell in front of her. But I do not believe her. My son was not weak. I am sure there was water. I have seen the body and his clothes were completely wet. He slipped,’ reported the Hindustan Times.
The school principal, Dr Kavita Sharma, and the administration are completely denying the allegations held against them. According to Dr Sharma, Arman had gone outside to take his pencil box. While returning he collapsed and fell on the corridor. She has denied the allegations of school floor being wet. ‘What has happened is extremely unfortunate. He was walking to the other classroom when he fell down. He was rushed to a hospital but he could not survive. There was no water in the corridor, staircase or around the area. We are going to extend our full cooperation and support to the child’s family and the police in their investigation,’ said Dr Sharma.
There was no CCTV camera in the school covering the area where Arman allegedly slipped and fell down as per the school authorities.
