Taking a dim view of the tragic death of a six-year-old Divyansh Kakrora on the premises of Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj on Saturday, Delhi Education Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday directed 3,500 schools in the national Capital to submit a report on the safety aspect in their buildings. The Government also decided to form a task force to verify the arrangements.
The Delhi Government held an emergency meeting on Sunday where issues related to safety aspects in schools were discussed threadbare.
After the emergency meeting of the Education Department, Sisodia said the boy’s death had “shattered" everyone. The team of Government officials will carry out inspection for an hour in each of the school buildings to ensure there is no repeat of the incident, he added.
Sisodia also said arrogant and insensitive behaviour of the schools on matters relating to safety of the children will not be tolerated at all.
“We have asked principals of each school, be it Government, municipal or private, to carry out a prima facie inspection and give us a report. As soon as we get the report, we will carry out an inspection based on their report. I will get all 3,500 schools inspected in next one month through SDMs, fire department, PWD, DJB, education department and municipal corporations,” Sisodia said.
Divyansh Kakrora, a Class I student of Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj area of South Delhi, was found dead in a water tank under the school's amphitheatre on Saturday. His death has once again exposed the lax safety arrangements. School authorities tried to hush the issue up and reported the matter quite late to the Delhi Police and the parents.
The incident triggered demands for cancellation of the school's licence even as the Government ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.
The Delhi Police registered a case of negligence and is probing whether Divyansh died due to the apathy of the school administration. A senior police official of the South district said that they are questioning the school authorities, including the principal Sandhya Sabu. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered with Vasant Kunj North police under Section 304 (A) of IPC against unknown persons for causing death due to negligence. "If negligence is established during the investigation, penal action will be initiated against those responsible for the death of the child," said a police official involved in the investigation.