Maharashtra tribal student dies after alleged medical negligence; 3 ashram school officials suspended

The principal and two other officials of a government-run ashram school in Maharashtra's Thane district have been suspended after an 11-year-old tribal student died due to alleged medical negligence, officials said on Saturday. The deceased student, Vivek Subhash Bhoye, a Class 5 student at the government ashram school in Pise of Bhiwandi taluka, had reportedly been running a high fever for four days before the school administration alerted his mother on Friday, police said.

According to the police, the boy's mother, in her complaint, alleged that she received a phone call from warden Rahul Zanjal on Friday morning, informing her that Vivek was sick and being taken to the government hospital in Shahapur. The mother then rushed to the school and found the boy gasping for breath, and when she questioned school principal Jaywant Saple, warden Zanjal, and class teacher Ashok Salve about their failure to inform her earlier or provide proper medical treatment, her concerns were brushed off, an official said.

Also read For every 100 boys, only 59 girls in rural India complete Class 12: UNESCO Report

School officials and the mother brought the boy to the Shahapur government hospital. While doctors commenced treatment, the school staff allegedly instructed the family to wait outside and fled the premises after the child succumbed within half an hour, he said. Talking to PTI, Rajashri Galande, project officer, Tribal Development Department, said the principal, class teacher and warden were suspended for negligence after an immediate probe into the incident.

Based on the mother's complaint, the Shahapur police registered an FIR against the trio under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. A probe is underway, and no arrests have been made as yet, a police official said. Locals and tribal organisations staged a protest in front of the TDP office at Shahapur and refused to claim the boy's body. The situation was resolved after the accused were suspended and the case was registered against them.