Student locked up for six hours in Orissa school

By IANS

Jagatsinghpur (Orissa) : A 12-year-old student was locked up in his classroom for six hours after school was over for the day.


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A peon locked the classrooms at 4 p.m. after the classes were over, without realising that the boy was sleeping in his classroom, the boy’s father, Babuli Swain told IANS Saturday.

Sankar Swain, a class VI student, had gone to attend his classes in Middle English School Thursday in Earasama village, about 100 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

No other student or teacher noticed him. When the boy did not return home till late in the evening, parents and relatives searched for him in and around the village.

Meanwhile, some villagers who heard the boy crying from inside the classroom late at night informed the parents. They broke open the door of the classroom and rescued Sankar.

“I was frightened when I woke up in the evening. It was a nightmare for me to spend six hours alone. I cried and managed to break one of the windows but the main door was locked,” Sankar said after he was rescued.

The headmistress of the school, Chabirani Sethi, apologised to the villagers Friday for the incident.

But about 300 villagers put the entire school under lock and key to protest against the negligence of the authorities. They also demanded immediate suspension of the headmistress.

The local block development officer, Muralidhar Swain, policemen and other government officials rushed to the school to defuse tension.

“We have demanded that the district inspector of schools take action in the matter. They should have checked all the classrooms before locking the doors.” said the father.

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