Mathura (UP), Oct 7 (PTI) Four students died and another fell unconscious after they entered a water tank to clean it at a residential school in Vrindavan here, police said on Wednesday.
Police have arrested the manager of residential school and registered a case in this connection, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced Rs 4 lakh financial assistance for the family of each deceased student, officials said.
A purported video of the lone survivor Rudra has also surfaced on social media, in which he describes how the students entered the tank and subsequently lost consciousness.
The incident took place on Tuesday night at Maharishi Parini Sanskrit Vidhyalaya, also known as Vrindavan Gurukulam, in Chaitanya Vihar Colony under Vrindavan police station, officials said.
Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar said one student initially entered the tank to clean it but did not come out.
After that, four other students went inside. When they too did not emerge, people present there pulled them out. The students were rushed to a hospital, where four were declared dead.
The deceased were identified as Manu Katara (24), a resident of Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh; Rishab Sharma (18) from Meerut; Aryan Sharma (18) from Kaushambi, and Devansh (17) from Vidhisha district of Madhya Pradesh.
Dr Vinit Yadav, Medical Superintendent of the local hospital, said the fifth boy, Rudra Videsh (18), is stable and recovering.
District Magistrate (DM) Chandra Prakash Singh has ordered an inquiry into the incident by the city magistrate. He said the chief minister has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the family of each deceased student.
Police have registered a case at Vrindavan police station on a complaint lodged the father of one of the deceased, Vrindavan Circle Officer Sandeep Kumar Singh said.
“A case was registered, and the accused manager Ashish Sharma was arrested,” Singh said.
In a purported video circulating on social media, the lone survivor Rudra says the tank was being cleaned at night to minimise disturbance to their regular studies during the day.
According to Rudra, the tank was first emptied using a motor, following which 24-year-old Manu Katara entered it. Manu fetched water for about five minutes and appeared normal, but then collapsed.
“Guruji asked other students to go inside and check his whereabouts,” Rudra said in the purported video.
He said all the students who descended into the tank subsequently fell unconscious. “I went inside at last. I felt normal at first, but after some time I felt suffocated, my eyes were getting closed, and my legs started shaking. I was not able to lift them,” Rudra said.
He said he shouted and raised his hand, following which Guruji and others pulled him out. “Guruji and other senior students went inside, then lifted the four students using ropes and a ladder,” Rudra said.
Around 200 students are learning Sanskrit at the school and at present 100 students are residing inside the campus.
Police are examining CCTV footage from the premises to ascertain the sequence of events.
Further legal action will be taken on the basis on the facts that emerge during the probe, SSP Kumar said, adding the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident. In a post on X, the chief minister described the incident as “extremely sad and heartbreaking” and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. PTI COR ABN KIS ARB
ARB
ARB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.