CHENNAI: After three school kids died in the wall collapse in a government-aided school in Tirunelveli, the southern part of the state in Tamil Nadu, police have booked a case under section 304 (2) and arrested three persons including the correspondent, headmaster, and building contractor of Chaffter Higher Secondary School here on Friday.
Correspondent Salamon Selvakumar, headmaster Gnanaselvi and the school's building contractor John Kennedy were arrested by Nellai Junction police.
Condoling the deaths, TN Chief Minister M.K Stalin has announced a solatium of Rs. 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs.3 lakh to the injured, the government has instructed district collectors to form a committee to inspect all the schools in their respective districts.
According to police, the incident took place at 11.30 am in the school located next to the Tirunelveli corporation office building. The deceased were identified as Sudhish (Class 6), Anbazhagan (Class 9), Vishwa Ranjan (Class 8). They had gone to the toilet when all of a sudden one of the walls near the urinal fell on them killing two on the spot and injuring four students. Sudhish died without responding to the treatment in the government hospital. Police and fire brigade rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.
After the incident, students along with their parents protested against the management and alleged that the walls were built using poor quality raw materials. They also staged a road roko. However, the police pacified them.
Upon receiving the information, district Collector V. Vishnu visited the students at the hospital and inquired about their health. Addressing the media, the Collector pointed out, “Preliminary inquiries by the Public Works Department (Construction) reveal that the wall did not have a strong foundation and could have weakened due to recent rain." He also stressed that a special team will be formulated to inspect all the government and private schools in the next 48 hours. Moreover, the team will also check the quality of the buildings, he added.
Meanwhile, School education sinister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that a detailed inquiry into the incident will be conducted by the district Chief Educational Officer, while assuring that the government will take steps to ensure such incidents do not recur by inspecting all the schools in the state.
