Gadchiroli school principal, 2 wardens, ex-minister booked over snakebite deaths

The tribal welfare department has also cancelled the registration of the school and ordered its closure

NAGPUR: The principal and two wardens of Japtalai Ashramshala (boarding school for tribal students) in Gadchiroli district were booked on Wednesday in connection with the death of three students earlier this week due to snakebite. Former Congress MP and minister Marotrao Kowase, who heads the trust which runs the school, and his secretary have also been booked based on a complaint from a project officer with the tribal welfare department, officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

Gadchiroli school principal, 2 wardens, ex-minister booked over snakebite deaths

The Dhanora police have booked school principal Prashant Tatpalliwar, male warden Bhaskar Bhoyar, female warden Bhagyashree Chillamwar, former minister Kowase and his secretary under sections 106 (1), 125 (a), 125 (b) and 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The tribal welfare department has also cancelled the registration of the school and ordered its closure. While all students have been sent back to their respective homes, they as well as staff members of Japtalai Ashramshala will be accommodated in other government-run ashram schools, officials said.

On Wednesday, tribal welfare minister Ashok Uikey met Samrudhi Netam, a class VIII student and snakebite victim who was airlifted to Nagpur as her condition was critical. “Samrudhi is recovering well and is out of danger now,” Uikey told reporters after meeting her at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Nagpur.

Two other students who were bitten by a snake – Deepika Madavi from class V and Kavita Kiranga from class VI – are also reportedly out of danger and have been shifted from the intensive care unit to the general ward at Gadchiroli District Hospital.

The government-aided Japtalai Ashramshala, located in Japtalai village in Gadchiroli, has 223 students and 24 employees. On Monday, six students were bitten by a snake while they were asleep, triggering panic among other students and staff; all students were reportedly sleeping on the floor as the school administration had not provided them with cots.

The six snakebite victims were rushed to Dhanora rural hospital, where two students – Deepika Lakda from class VI and Sushmita Mandal from class VIII – died while undergoing treatment.

While the remaining four students were shifted to the District General Hospital in Gadchiroli, Samrudhi Netam’s condition deteriorated sharply, prompting the district administration and police to arrange an emergency airlift to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Nagpur for advanced treatment.

Gadchiroli’s guardian minister Ashish Jaiswal said the trustees of the educational society running the school would be held accountable.

“The government provides sufficient funds to aided schools to ensure proper education, safety and comfort for residential students. There was no reason for such a tragedy to have occurred,” Jaiswal told reporters.

The state government has announced compensation of ₹5 lakh each for the families of the three

deceased students.

The incident has raised serious questions over the living conditions and safety of students in residential tribal schools, particularly those located in remote districts such as Gadchiroli.