Journalism of Courage
A Class 10 student was crushed to death and 18 of her school mates sustained injuries after a 250-year-old peepal (sacred fig), declared “heritage property” by the Chandigarh administration, fell on them inside the Carmel Convent School complex in Sector 9 here Friday.
A woman attendant of the private school, who sustained injuries, has been put on ventilator, while the left arm of one of the students had to be amputated to save her life, officials said. One more student of the all-girls school is stated to be critical while the condition of most of the other injured was stable.
While police lodged an FIR under Section 336 (act to endanger human life or personal safety), and 304A (death due to negligence) of the IPC against unidentified persons, the Chandigarh administration ordered a magisterial probe.
The incident took place at 11.25 am, minutes before the recess break was to end. Most of the students were having lunch when the nearly 75-ft-tall tree came crashing down trapping several of them. Police and fire department officials reached the spot within 10 minutes, an official said, adding the injured were taken to government multi-speciality hospital in Sector 16 and to PGIMER, while some were taken to Fortis hospital in Mohali..
Established in 1959, the Carmel Convent is one of the oldest in Chandigarh.
A three-member committee set up to conduct the probe has been asked to submit a report within one week.
Meanwhile, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and CM Manohar Lal Khattar expressed shock over the incident.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann too reacted to the incident.
