Class IV Boy Dies After Being Forced To Do Sit-Ups As Punishment In Odisha School

Jajpur: A Class IV student died while allegedly being made to do sit-ups at Surya Narayan Nodal Upper Primary School at Orali village under Kuakhia block in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Rudra Narayana, son of one Nityananda Sethy of the village.

According to sources, a teacher found the minor boy and three of his friends on the school terrace around 3 pm and asked them to do sit-ups as punishment. The boy lost consciousness after squatting twice. He was rushed to Community Health Centre at Madhuban and later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

While the reason behind his death is yet to be ascertained, the family of the deceased alleged that the delay on the part of the school authorities to take him to hospital cost him his life.

“He was my only son. He had gone to school like any other day and was perfectly healthy. I received a call informing that my boy had fallen unconscious while doing sit-ups. Instead of providing him immediate medical assistance, they were busy collecting by number. It was already over an hour since the incident, when I reached the school and took him to hospital. Had they acted swiftly, my child would have been saved,” alleged Nityananda, the boy’s father.

However, no complaint has so far been filed with Kuakhia police, the sources added.

Notably, Odisha banned corporal punishment in schools in 2004 following strings of allegations of teachers beating up students.