Hyderabad: Holding officials and staff of the Social Welfare Residential School at Jangaon in erstwhile Warangal district responsible for the death of a Class V student, the NHRC issued a notice to the chief secretary of the Telangana state government, asking why the compensation of Rs 2 lakh was not paid to the family under the Protection of the Human Rights Act.
Three years after a Class V student found dead under mysterious circumstances in the social welfare residential school at Jangaon, the NHRC conducted an enquiry and opined that the school authorities were responsible for negligence in handling the situation.
During the enquiry, the NHRC observed, “No standard operating procedure was made by the school authorities to maintain regular health check-ups of children. The doctor employed by the school authorities was not a regular MBBS degree holder but a BAMS practitioner.”
M. Krishna, father of the deceased along with his wife M. Renuka shifted from Jangaon to Hyderabad to fight for justice. He said, “My son was killed by some children. The authorities showed his death as a natural one. I approached the NHRC for justice for my son.”
He said Jangaon police had not investigated the case properly and the actual cause of death was not properly ascertained.
The NHRC received a report from the commissioner of police, Warangal, that the boy, Charan, collapsed due to epilepsy, sustained injuries and died. The investigative division of the NHRC found that there was no evidence that proved that Charan was suffering from epilepsy.
The NHRC stated that despite the child having a history of epilepsy as claimed by the school authorities, no medical and health records were maintained. The ailing child was sent in an auto to the hospital. This shows the apathy of the school authorities who had no facilities to respond to an emergency. Therefore the school authorities were responsible for negligence in handling the circumstances that lead to the death of the child, it said.
The NHRC has issued notice to the chief secretary of Telangana state Government, asking him why Rs 2 lakh compensation was not awarded to the family of Charan under the Protection of Human Rights Act for violation of human rights.
