The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has directed the State Government to pay Rs 3,10,000 as compensation to the bereaved parents of a minor girl who died in an accident in her school last year. Acting on a petition filed by rights activist and lawyer Prabir Kumar Das, the commission has also directed the State Government to send a compliance report within the next six weeks.
According to Das, 11-year-old Tilottama Patra, a Class VI student of an Upper Primary School in Ganjam district (142 km from here), went to the toilet on the school premises during recess on October 16 last year. The toilet was under construction and suddenly collapsed on her. She sustained critical injuries. The girl died at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital the following day, he said.
Although the State Government paid a compensation of Rs110,000 to the parents of the girl (Rs10,000 from the Red Cross and Rs100,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund), Das had moved the commission seeking more compensation for the family. The commission in its judgment fixed the compensation at Rs 3,10,000 and directed the State Government to pay the remaining Rs 2 lakh to the family.