12-year-old dies in Thane tribal school; principal and staff booked

The principal, superintendent and a teacher have been booked, while authorities have ordered an inquiry and announced ₹2 lakh ex gratia for the family.

A 12-year-old student died in a government ashram school in Thane district on Friday morning, keeping the spotlight firmly on the sorry state of tribal schools across Maharashtra.

Class 5 student dies in Thane tribal school, 3 booked

After the Gadchiroli deaths in August and angry protests on Friday, police swiftly registered a first information report (FIR) against the school’s principal Jaywant Saple, school superintendent Rahul Javanjal, and a primary teacher Ashok Salave. The state tribal development department also suspended Saple, Javanjal and Salave, and set up an inquiry committee to investigate the death.

The Class 5 student, Vivek Subhash Bhoye, died at the Pise Ashram School in Bhiwandi taluka after developing a fever four days ago. The school authorities allegedly did not get him the medical attention he needed, tribal activists claim, demanding better healthcare and accountability from the authorities.

Friday’s death comes amid protests over the poor condition of tribal residential schools in the state. In August, three students died after they were bitten by a snake in a tribal ashram school in Gadchiroli. The children were sleeping on the floor when six of them were bitten as the school had no beds.

After the Thane death, the Shramjeevi Sanghatana wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, stating that the student was taken to the Padgha primary health centre on October 6 and again on October 8. Medical records mentioned fever, chills, nausea and low blood pressure.

Doctors referred him to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi or the Shahapur sub-district hospital for further treatment, said sanghatana president Vivek Pandit, who alleged that the school authorities failed to take the boy to the referred hospital in time. Saple was not available for comment.

The incident has triggered protests at the Integrated Tribal Development Project office in Shahapur in Thane district. Tribal activists are demanding an impartial investigation, criminal action against those found responsible, and measures to ensure that incidents like this do not recur.

They also claim the child’s parents were not informed about the boy’s condition in time. “According to the rules, parents must be informed of a student’s illness on day one but authorities don’t do this,” alleged Prakash Khoda, an activist from Shahapur. The organisation has also sought financial compensation for the boy’s family.

Project officer T R Galande said the principal, superintendent and a primary teacher have been suspended following the student’s death. “The administration has also announced financial assistance of ₹2 lakh for the family,” he said.

Khoda said the inquiry must establish whether the student received timely medical attention and whether the school followed the required procedures when his condition worsened. “The government must also examine the healthcare arrangements in ashram schools across the state,” he added.

The school’s principal, superintendent and primary teacher have been booked by the Shahapur police under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 for “cruelty to a child by any person who has actual charge of them”. They have also been booked under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for “causing the death of a person through a rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide”.