Janmashtami Celebrations: Boy collapses at school fete

Hyderabad: Naveen Goud, a 14-year-old Class IX student of Keshav Reddy Residential School, died under mysterious circumstances on Saturday.

According to sources, Naveen had collapsed during Gokulashtami celebrations at the school on Saturday night. When his condition did not improve after being given first aid, the students requested the principal to take him to a hospital which he allegedly refused. When Naveen was finally taken to hospital, doctors there declared him as brought dead.

Following this the students staged a protest on the highway alleging that the principal’s negligence had caused Naveen’s death. They also damaged furniture and glass panes in the school’s security room. Meanwhile parents and the AP Balala Hakkula Sangham have demanded strict action against the principal and school management.

Naveen was a native of Alur village in Chevella mandal of Ranga Reddy district. His father is an RTC driver at the Parigi depot.  On Saturday, Naveen had collapsed during cultural activities organised for Gokulashtami. Despite being given first aid, he had complained of breathing trouble.

“Sir (the principal) was not ready to take him to hospital and said he would  be normal. After requesting for more than an hour, he agreed to take him to the government hospital at Parigi. We requested our teachers to call the ambulance from their mobiles, but none of them called,” said a Class X student.

Later, the students rushed out of the campus and with the help of a passerby, called an ambulance. “Sir was taking him to hospital (in his car), but when he saw the ambulance…he brought us back to school and sent us to the hospital in the ambulance,” said a classmate of Naveen’s who had accompanied him to the hospital.

However, the school authorities denied the allegations and said that he had been given first aid in school and shifted to the hospital immediately. “His family told us that he was suffering from asthma,” said a school staff. Police has registered a case of suspicious death under Section 174 of IPC. The body has been handed over to boy’s family after post-mortem.