Nagarjuna High School points to girl’s ‘mental health’

Hyderabad: The Nagarjuna High School at Nagole has pointed to the “mental condition” of N. Veevika, who fell to her death from the school bulding on Saturday.

The school was replying to a showcause notice issued to it by the Medchal education office. An official said the school management stated that Veevika was seen crying in the CCTV footage when she was coming to school. Viveeka went up to the terrace and opened the door when everybody came down for the prayer meeting, the school reportedly said.

Speaking to DC, district educational officer I. Vijaya Kumari said the school would be reopened after ensuring that it had implemented the safety measures that are listed in the National Building Code. “If the school fails to adhere to norms, there are chances that it would be permanently seized and action would be taken on the school management accordingly,” she said.

Replying to questions about her condition, Veevika’s parents said she was stable. It was said that she had seizures a couple of years ago but was cured with medication.

Elsewhere, the Rachakonda police could not make any headway into its investigations into the circumstances behind Veevika’s death. The police said they could not record the statements of the students who were present with Veevika. Police is awaiting the postmortem examination report from the forensic doctors at Osmania General Hospital

When contacted, LB Nagar inspector V. Ashok Reddy said “The school was shut on Thursday immediately after the incident and was closed on Friday. Because of this, we could not record the statements of the two students who were present on the terrace when Veevika fell down. We are also awaiting the PME report, as there are reports that the girl was suffering from ill-health.”

An expert from the Clues team said, “It may not be possible to identify through the autopsy if Veevika was pushed or she accidentally fell down. Circumstantial evidence may provide clues in the case.”

The family members completed her final rites at a graveyard in Thattiannaram on Friday. They demanded justice and are hoping that such incidents should not leave more families in pain. Mr Shiva Prasad, a private teacher and maternal uncle of the student, said “Veevika had been suffering from seizures till three years ago. She was under medication and doctors had said that she was cured and had no problem. We have reports to support our claims.”

“We want justice. We want to know how she fell from the building. We want no more such incidents to happen. No other family should suffer like us,” he said.