Mahanthamma Shivappa Talawar, a Class II student who was critically injured after falling into a hot Sambar vessel at midday meal kitchen attached to Chinmmgera Government Higher Primary School in Afzalpur taluk of Kalaburagi district, died at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The eight-year-old girl had accidentally slipped into a hot Sambar vessel in the school while serving a midday meal at the Government Higher Primary School in Chinmmgera village. She sustained 40% burn injuries on Thursday. She was immediately rushed to a Primary Health Centre at Choudapur where she received first aid and later shifted to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences in Kalaburagi for further treatment.
On the insistence of the parents, the student was later shifted to Basaveshwara Hospital in Kalaburagi on Friday.
“Since her condition was deteriorating, she was later shifted to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday. She could not respond to the treatment and eventually breathed her last at 3.30 am on Sunday,” Sanjeev Kumar, Tahashildar of Afzalpur, told The Hindu.
When called for more information, the Chief Executive Officer of Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat Bhanwar Singh Meena did not receive calls.
FIR against seven:
Following complaint lodged by the girl’s mother Sangeetha Shivappa Talawar on Saturday, a case was registered against seven people – Chinmmgera Government School kitchen staff, Chinmmgera Higher Primary School Headmistress, Assistant Director of Akshara Dasoha, Afzalpur, Block Education Officer, Afzalpur, Executive Officer of Afzalpur Taluk Panchayat, Deputy Director of Public Instruction and Zilla Panchayat officer concerned to Midday Meal – at Devalagangapur Police Station.
In her complaint, Ms. Sangeetha, the mother of the deceased girl, clearly mentioned that hungry students in large numbers thronged the Sambar vessel just as it was put for lunch at the school and a stampede-like situation was created as there was no mechanism to channel the students with discipline leading to her daughter slipping into the large Sambar vessel containing around 40 liters of hot Sambar.
Taking the incident seriously, Deputy Director of Public Instruction Mr. Sakreppagouda Biradar had already suspended two teachers – Ms. Lalabi Nadaf, the Head Mistress (Provisional) and Mr. Raju Chauhan, the assistant teacher – on charges of negligence under Rule 10(1) of Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957 on Friday itself. Mr. Ramesh Sulfi, Executive Officer of Afzalpur Taluk Panchayat, had dismissed Ms. Kasturibai Talakeri, the chief cook of the Midday Meal scheme in the school on the same day.
It is learnt that the district child protection officers visited the school on Saturday only after they were taken to task by Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum.
