The death of Divyansh Kakrora, a six-year-old student of Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj whose body was found inside an open water tank near the amphitheatre of his school, has drawn a lot of criticism from the school’s alumni and some teachers against the lackadaisical attitude of the school authorities.
“It’s a shame that the school is trying to plead for leniency over the child’s death by labelling him as ‘special’. If he was a ‘special’ child, there was all the more reason for the school to have taken extra precautions,” said Dr Itisha Nagar, a practicing psychologist and an alumnus of the school.
“I feel shame to associate my name with people who directly or indirectly led to the death of this child, and those who continue to blame it on the ‘hyperactivity’ of the child. It’s a shame on this institution and its management,” Dr Nagar said.
Another alumnus of the school, requesting anonymity, said, “As an alumnus, I’m shocked at the school authority’s carelessness and also on how the parents were treated by the school principal immediately after the incident. Strong action should be taken against the authorities. The chairman of the Ryan Group, A.F. Pinto should himself answer.” The school’s principal Sandhya Sabu was arrested this week, but later granted bail.
Some teachers contested the school’s version. “The school has said that Divyansh went missing in the sixth period which is false. He went missing in the second period itself, but an alarm was raised only in the seventh period, fearing a chaos during dispersal of the school after the eighth period,” a teacher associated with the school said on condition of anonymity, adding Divyansh was a bright student. “The child at times did go missing, but it is the responsibility of the class teachers to keep track of students, especially those in the junior classes,” the teacher said.
Divyansh’s father Ram K. Meena also accused the school of negligence. “The school is saying my child was hyperactive; if he was, why did the class teacher not look for him for four hours when he was not in class,” Meena said, adding he would lodge a complaint under Section 302 (murder) of IPC and seek a CBI inquiry. “I believe it is a murder and not an accident, which is what the school is trying to portray the incident as,” he added. The police, however, said they are carrying out a “thorough” investigation. “Prima facie, this is a case of negligence. We have registered an FIR. Murder does not seem to be the motive, as primary medical reports show no external injuries,” a police official said.
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