Palghar, Oct 20 (PTI) Two students died and three others were seriously injured after the motorcycle they were riding slipped and fell in a roadside pit as they were returning to their ashram school after attending a village fair in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place in the wee hours of Monday in Jawhar taluka, following which the headmaster, warden, and watchman of the Hiradpada Gagangiri Ashram School were placed under suspension as these five students had secretly stepped out of the school to attend Navratri festival in nearby Sarsun village.
“The students managed to leave the hostel and rode together on a single motorcycle. While returning to the school between 2.30 am 3 am on October 19, their two-wheeler met with a horrific crash in Kongdi ghat, which resulted in the death of two students, identified as Sumit Motiram Bhingal (18), Pritam Ganesh Potinda (15). The other three students sustained critical injuries,” a Jawhar police station official said.
A motorist passing by alerted the Jawhar police, following which the victims were initially rushed to a cottage hospital in Jawhar. Bud considering their critical condition, they were subsequently shifted to a hospital in Nashik for advanced medical care, he said.
Following the incident, questions were raised as to how five students managed to slip out of the hostel late at night undetected, bypassing the supervision of the school headmaster, hostel warden, and night watchman.
An inquiry committee report by the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) brought to light glaring security lapses, noting that non-residential students were allowed inside the hostel and that CCTV cameras remained non-functional despite earlier warnings, an official said.
Taking serious cognisance of the tragedy, Siddharth Ramkumar, ITDP Project Officer and Assistant Collector in Jawhar, issued formal show-cause notices to the school management, headmaster, warden, and security watchman, he said.
Responding to mounting public pressure and glaring omissions in student safety, the educational institution placed the headmaster, warden, and watchman under suspension.
A local organisation demanded that a criminal case be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the school headmaster, hostel warden, night watchman, and management trustees. PTI COR NP
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