Boy falls in hot curry while standing in midday meal queue, 3 teachers suspended

“Detailed guidelines regarding midday meals have already been handed over to every school — right from maintaining hygiene to serving food and security,” said Basic Education (Director) Sarvendra Vikram Singh.

A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy suffered burns after he fell in a pot of hot vegetable curry while standing in a queue for midday meal at a government primary school in Bahraich district. With allegedly no teacher or staff coming forward to help him, Shivam Kumar — who suffered 20 per cent burns — had to walk around 500 m to his home before he could be taken to the district hospital by his family.

Following the incident, which occurred at Arjuna Hussainpur village in Kotwali Dehat area of Bahraich, Shivam’s father Suresh Kumar got an FIR lodged against the school teachers and two cooks. Later, the state basic education department suspended three teachers and removed the cooks from duty besides ordering a departmental inquiry into the incident.

According to the father, Shivam, a student of Class I, was standing in the queue for midday meal when he stumbled and fell in the pot. In his complaint to the police, he has also alleged that the school staff neither rushed Shivam to a hospital nor informed his family about the incident. “Ya to bhagwan janta hai, ya mera bachcha… ki us halat mein woh 500 metre kaise chal ke aaya. Teacheron ko taras bhi nahi aaya (Either God or my child knows how he mangaed to walk for 500 m. The teachers didn’t even have pity on him),” Suresh, a construction worker, told The Indian Express.

“He was barely able to walk. The skin on his lower back and legs was coming off and he was walking with the help of his classmate, who was having difficulty in supporting with. It was a sight I could never forget,” he added. The classmate brought Shivam home around 2 pm. “Soon, we rushed him to a doctor in the neighbouring market… From there, I went to confront the teachers, who told me that it was not their fault if students do not listen to them and refuse to stand in a line,” said Suresh.

Suresh said Shivam, his eldest son, had taken admission in the government primary school this year, as there is no other primary school in his neighbourhood. His other son is two years old. “Doctors said he has suffered 20 per cent burns but he will recover,” he added. When contacted, Ashish Singh, officiating Basic Education Officer in Bahraich, said: “The incident took place when students were being served midday meal and they had gathered around the cooking vessel. As they started pushing each other to get served first, Shivam fell into the vessel. While three teachers have been suspended for negligence, the cooks have been removed. A departmental inquiry has been ordered against them.”

“Detailed guidelines regarding midday meals have already been handed over to every school — right from maintaining hygiene to serving food and security,” said Basic Education (Director) Sarvendra Vikram Singh. The accused teachers — Javed Ahmed, Sarika and Minakshi Rajpoot — and cooks Shanti Devi and Shyam Devi have been booked sections 279 (negligent behaviour endangering human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC, said Kotwali Dehat police SHO M K Mishra. “The child is undergoing treatment at the district hospital… the FIR was registered on Monday itself,” said Bahraich SP Jugal Kishore.