BERHAMPUR: Tension flared up at Paikdakuluguda village in Rayagada’s Bissamcuttack block on Wednesday after a Class VII student succumbed to burn injuries which he had sustained in a fire originating from paint thinner on the school campus in January this year.
The 12-year-old student of Paikadakuluguda high school, Biren Takri, died at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Tuesday afternoon after battling for life for more than 50 days.
As news of Takri’s death spread, villagers locked some teachers of the school in a classroom. The teachers were rescued after Muniguda police reached the school and opened the lock after negotiating with the villagers.
Tension flared up again on Wednesday after the student’s body reached Paikadakuluguda in the morning. Villagers staged protest in front of the school with the student’s body, demanding adequate compensation for the bereaved family. They claimed negligence of teachers led to the fire mishap in the school and demanded strict action a g ainst them.
Later in the day, additional district education officer Saraswati Muni, IIC of Muniguda police station Keshav Sadangi reached the spot and held discussion with the agitators for over three hours. Police force was also deployed in the village to maintain law and order.
The irate villagers called off the protest after the IIC assured them to place their demands before the district administration. Subsequently, the student’s body was taken for cremation late in the evening.
On January 5, four students of the high school suffered bur n injuries after being caught in a fire caused by paint thinner kept on the campus.
A few students reportedly poured some of the solvent, high in spirits content, on the floor and set it on fire. While the fire was on, one of them sprayed more paint thinner into the flames which leapt and caught the four students standing nearby.
Following the incident, the School and Mass Education department initiated disciplinary action against five staff members of Paikadakuluguda high school. Show-cause notices were issued to the headmaster and four primary teachers, and their salaries were temporarily withheld.