Ghazal Yadav: Noida Extension residents pay tribute to late DPS student

Stellar Jeevan society residents in Noida Extension paid tributes to Ghazal Yadav, a class 2 student of DPS World School who died after a karate tournament

Residents of Stellar Jeevan society in Noida Extension paid tributes to seven-year-old Ghazal Yadav on Sunday. Ghazal, a class 2 student of DPS World School in Noida Extension, died on January 31 after participating in a karate competition.

Seven-year-old Ghazal Yadav had died on January 31 after taking part in a karate competition. Her mother, Savita (in picture), said there has been a delay in the investigation at every step.

Wearing ‘#justiceforgazhal’ T-shirts, over a hundred residents gathered inside the society’s club in the morning and paid a floral tribute. The event lasted for more than an hour. Children were seen holding placards and posters, seeking justice for Ghazal. Her parents, Lal Chand Yadav and Savita Yadav, sought the support of those present to get the guilty punished.

Lal Chand alleged that the school management delayed medical treatment to his daughter for more than two hours. He said that he is fighting for justice to ensure that no other child is affected in the future.

“Winning this battle of justice is possible only if parents and the civil society join in. This fight is against those who don’t care about child safety,” Yadav said.

Savita said, “She won a gold medal with a certificate and left for heavenly abode. The police investigation has not moved (further) over the last one month. We are running from pillar to post and authorities are not taking responsibility to investigate the matter. There is a delay at every corner.”

Pamphlets describing the sequence of events related to Ghazal’s death were also distributed among the residents. The residents also extended their support to popularise the campaign #justiceforgazhal on social networking sites, to garner support for initiating action against those responsible for allegedly delaying treatment to the girl.

Since January 31, Ghazal’s parents have repeatedly approached the administration, police and the National Commission for Child Rights Protection. The Union minister for women and child development has also taken cognizance of the matter.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had written to the district magistrate, NP Singh, on February 17 to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report in 30 days. The Commission observed that the complaint is self-explanatory and asked the district magistrate to conduct an investigation at the earliest.

The school management, however, has refuted the allegations. Jyoti Arora, the principal of the school, said, “An investigation is being conducted into this and we are cooperating with the officials for this. We will cooperate with officials for any inquiry in the future as well.”