Mystery shrouds death of Class-9 student

MORINDA: Mystery shrouds the death of a Class-9 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya student, Rahul Diwakar, at his home in Morinda on November 8. Diwakar, son of a street-food vendor, had been admitted at the Central government residential school at Sandhuan village, around 22km from district headquarters, around three months ago.

Rahul’s mother, Santosh, told HT that she had received a call from her son on October 31, informing her that he had fallen off the stairs and wanted to rest at home. According to the family, Rahul was brought home, where he stayed depressed and brooding for a week, until November 8, when he developed sudden complications and died, at home.

“Before his death, he told us that that some students at the school had thrashed him. He also named some students,” the parents have claimed, adding that after the death they approached the Morinda police to register a complaint, but were asked to go to the Chamkaur Sahib police station, as the school fell under its jurisdiction. The parents then cremated their son, without getting a post-mortem done.

‘SCHOOL INQUIRY FOUND NO ONE AT FAULT’

Jawahar Navodaya principal SD Sharma said, “The boy had suffered minor injuries when he slipped from stairs on October 30 and was administered first-aid. On a complaint from his parents, an inquiry was conducted and no one was found at fault.”

Rupnagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Swapan Sharma said, “Rahul’s family was asked to lodge a complaint at the Chamkaur Sahib police station, but they failed to do so and cremated the body. No action can be taken under these circumstances.”