NALGONDA: School reopening celebrations turned tragic at the Kondamallepally Zilla Parishad (ZP) Government High School on Monday. Teachers preparing the campus allegedly asked a 13-year-old bystander to put up decorations, resulting in a near-fatal electric shock.
The victim, V Ram Charan — a Class 8 student at a nearby private school — was playing on the ZP High School grounds because his house sits adjacent to the campus.
While decorating the school entrance, teachers reportedly asked the boy to climb the main entrance gate to tie mango leaves and flower garlands. While atop the gate, Charan came into contact with high-voltage overhead power lines running dangerously close to the structure. The severe shock blasted him off the gate, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain critical head injuries. Teachers and local residents rushed the bleeding boy to Devarakonda Government Hospital. He is currently in the intensive care unit under strict 48-hour medical observation.
The incident has triggered fierce local protests and outrage from student unions. Condemning the school management, ABVP student leader
N Gopichand stated that the faculty acted with negligence.
Locals emphasised that school authorities were well aware of the lethal proximity of the power lines yet chose to risk a child’s life. They demanded strict action against the authorities.