Hiradpada Gagangiri Ashram School: 5 students slip out for Navratri fair, 2 die in motorcycle crash

Palghar: Two students died and three others were seriously injured after the motorcycle they were riding skidded and fell into a roadside pit as they were returning to their ashram school after attending a village fair in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in the wee hours of Monday in Jawhar taluka, following which the headmaster, warden, and watchman of the Hiradpada Gagangiri Ashram School were placed under suspension for "dereliction of duty" as these five students had secretly stepped out of the school to attend Navratri festival in nearby Sarsun village.

"The students managed to leave the hostel and rode together on a single motorcycle. While returning to the school between 2.30 am and 3 am on October 19, their two-wheeler skidded in Kongdi ghat, which resulted in the death of two students, identified as Sumit Motiram Bhingal (18) from Class 12 and Pritam Ganesh Potinda (15) from Class 9.

Also read MP Board removes 2-mark questions for Classes 9 to 12, introduces internal choice in 5 and 7-mark questions

The other three students sustained critical injuries," a Jawhar police station official said. A motorist passing by alerted the Jawhar police. The Palghar district administration said in a statement that while one student died on the spot, others were rushed to Patangshah Cottage Hospital in Jawhar, where doctors declared another student dead during treatment.

The remaining three injured students, whose condition was critical, were shifted to the District Hospital in Nashik for advanced medical care, it said. According to the doctors, the condition of the three injured students was stable and improving, it said. While two of the students were from Class 9, one was Class 10 and two others were from Class 12.

ITDP probe finds hostel safety lapses

Following the incident, questions were raised as to how five students managed to slip out of the hostel late at night undetected, bypassing the supervision of the school headmaster, hostel warden, and night watchman. An inquiry committee report by the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) brought to light glaring security lapses, noting that non-residential students were allowed inside the hostel and that CCTV cameras remained non-functional despite earlier warnings, an official said.

Taking serious cognisance of the tragedy, Siddharth Ramkumar, ITDP Project Officer and Assistant Collector in Jawhar, issued formal show-cause notices to the school management, headmaster, warden, and security watchman, he said. Finding clear lapses and dereliction of duty, he issued strict directives for immediate disciplinary action.

Also read NIOS October Exam 2026: Class 10, 12 theory hall ticket out at sdmis.nios.ac.in, direct link

Responding to mounting public pressure and glaring omissions in student safety, the educational institution placed the headmaster, warden, and watchman under suspension. A local organisation demanded that a criminal case be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the school headmaster, hostel warden, night watchman, and management trustees.