BHUPALPALLY: Eleven students fell ill on Friday after drinking water in which a teacher allegedly mixed pesticide following a tussle with his colleagues at the Urban Residential School in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. The students were discharged after treatment at the Bhupalpally Government Hospital.
The matter came to light on Saturday morning, when the students complained to authorities about the ongoing tussle among the school staff. Preliminary inquiries revealed that science teacher Rajender mixed pesticide in the water and hid the bottle under students’ bedsheets. When questioned by the students, he warned them not to disclose anything. To avoid suspicion, he also drank the water himself and was later admitted to the hospital.
Upon learning about the incident, Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Satyanarayana Rao, District Collector Rahul Sharma and SP Kiran Kare rushed to the school to assess the situation.
Following an inspection, the district collector suspended Rajender, along with two other teachers, Venu and Suryaprakash, and the cook, Rajeshwari, for negligence. He cautioned the school principal and staff against indulging in internal disputes that could put students’ safety at risk.