MADIKERI: A seven-year-old boy studying in a charitable education institution was burned to death in a fire accident reported at the school premises in Kodagu.
The accident took place due to a suspected short circuit in Har Mandir School of CGSIES at Katakeri village in Madikeri taluk.
Pushpak, a native of Chettimani village in the district, is the victim.
Child of farmer Anil Kumar and Triveni, Pushpak was a second-grade student at the boarding school. He, alongside 52 other students, had returned to school two days ago after the Dasara holidays.
All 53 students were staying at the boarding facility in the institution. At around 4 am on Thursday, thick smoke filled the school building.
A student woke up to open the room windows and noticed that the building was on fire and alerted the others in the boarding facility. School staff, including the warden, rushed the students out to safety even as the warden jumped out of the window as thick smoke filled the building's rooms.
However, when the staff took a head count of the students, it was found that Pushpak was missing.
As the building was burning in thick fire and was engulfed in smoke, they could not trace Pushpak even as the fire department staff was rushed to the spot.
As the fire was being doused, the fire rescuers found the charred dead body of Pushpak lying in the boarding facility.
The spot was visited by DC Venkat Raja and other officials who took stock of the accident.
“A proper investigation will be conducted. A short circuit is suspected to have caused the accident,” DC said.
He added that the investigation will also look into the permits and other safety guidelines of the institution. The victim’s sister, Sinchana, is studying in the sixth grade in the same school. The parents of Pushpak rushed to the spot, and they were inconsolable.
“My son was very fond of the school. After receiving the message of school reopening post Dasara holidays, he was eager to come back to the school. We dropped him off on Sunday. He had insisted that he join the same school as his sister. He was interested in sports and was very creative,” shared Triveni, mother of Pushpak.
Har Mandir School of CGSIES is a charitable institution functioning under the aegis of Indus Quality Foundation Wise Foundation (based in New Delhi).
The school was established in 2019 at Katakeri village and currently has 102 students studying from first to seventh grade. The students are from financially weak backgrounds and are being imparted Gurukul-style education, free of cost.
Among the 102 students, 72 students opted for the boarding facility and the rest are day scholars. However, after the Dasara holidays, only 53 students returned to the boarding facility and the others were to return shortly.
The school management has assured to support the family of the victim.
DC also confirmed to send a report to the state seeking compensation for the victim’s family. Meanwhile, as Pushpak’s body was charred to death, fragments of his body samples were taken for post-mortem. His remains, wrapped in a cloth, were handed over to the family.
