By IANS,
New Delhi : Two girls injured in a stampede in a government school here Thursday continued to battle for life Friday while activists held protests against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal after the tragedy that claimed five lives.
“Ruchi and Usha are still serious. We are trying to bring them out of artificial respiration. Including these two, 21 girls are still in the hospital,” J.P. Kapoor, the head of Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital’s casualty department, told IANS.
Five girl students were killed and at least 34 were injured Thursday morning in a stampede at the Government Senior Secondary School (Classes 6-12) in Khajoori Khas of northeast Delhi. The victims were mostly from classes 7-10 who had come to the school in pouring rain for their mid-year examinations.
The injured were rushed to the GTB hospital. The school also remained closed Friday.
“Ten injured students have been discharged from the hospital. The condition of other children is stable,” said Kapoor.
Angry families and relatives of the victims threw stones and protested outside the school Thursday, leading to the police throwing a security cordon around the premises.
“Not only the victims’ families, the entire area is in a state of shock and is grieving. This is why we have made proper security arrangements at the place to avoid any problems,” a senior police official said.
“Initial reports suggested that a rumour about electric current leaking into the rainwater in the school triggered a stampede. Victims later revealed that the boys who came over to the school to give their examination tried to molest them, resulting in the mishap,” the police official added.
Some parents maintained that there have been incidents of boys harassing girls in the past as well.
According to hospital authorities, the medical reports have suggested there were no electrocution injuries and most girls had injuries in abdomen, chest and hands.
The All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) held a protest at Jantar Mantar against the state of affairs in government-run girls schools in the capital.
Their activists burnt effigies of Sibal and Dikshit and shouted slogans against them.
“The Dikshit government as well as Sibal’s ministry are directly and criminally guilty of the schoolgirls’ deaths in a government school,” said AIPWA national secretary Kavita Krishnan.
Dikshit ordered an inquiry into the incident Thursday and the report is expected to be submitted in two-three days.