Paralakhemundi: The Gajapati administration on Friday suspended Seto Raika, in-charge headmaster of Rubudisingh Upper Primary School in the R. Udayagiri block, two days after an iron gate attached to a dilapidated wall collapsed, killing two girl students.
According to sources, the structure gave away when the girls – identified as Edanti Rait (9) and Bekleshan Rait (10) of Rubudisingh village under R Udayagiri police limits and students of class IV and class V respectively, were playing near the entrance gate. Locals rescued them from the debris and rushed them to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival. Their bodies were subsequently transferred to the district headquarters hospital in Paralakhemundi for postmortem.
As the incident led to tension in the area with villagers, demanding compensation for the students’ deaths, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi announced a financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh each for the kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He also directed the revenue divisional commissioner (Southern division) to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident.
A case was also registered at R Udayagiri police station against a contractor, accused of using the school premises to store construction materials, amid allegations that frequent movement of heavy vehicles inside the campus weakened the boundary wall and gate structure.
Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) Chairperson Justice Satrughana Pujahari had visited the site soon after the incident and assured strict action against those responsible. He met with the bereaved families to offer condolences and directed district authorities to conduct a comprehensive assessment of unsafe school infrastructure across Gajapati to prevent similar accidents.
