CHENNAI: A day after the death of LKG student who drowned in a septic tank of a private school near Porur, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday urged the school education department and district collectors to ensure that the schools were safe for children. He also instructed the education department to conduct an inquiry into the accident and announced a solatium of Rs 1 lakh to the bereaving family.
In a related development, school education minister K. A. Sengottaiyan also conducted a meeting with school education department officials and told the officers to periodically review the safety parameters taken in private and government schools.
Meanwhile the city police on Saturday arrested the plumber was involved in cleaning the sump of Masi Matriculation School in Ayyapanthangal. The police had also lodged a manhunt for the missing contract workers and the school headmaster, however, police remained tight lipped on the action taken against the school authorities. The police also maintained that they were waiting for the autopsy report of deceased kid M. Kirtheeswaran for further action.
The arrested man was identified as Dharani Babu (27) and his associates are also under the scanner. The police had registered a case against the correspondents of the institution, Sumathi, Shanthi and Punithavathi and have booked them under section IPC 304 for causing death due to negligence.
It may be noted that the deceased kid slip into the sump when three workers appointed to clear the blockage of septic tank left the lid open while they went out for a cup of tea. The news sent a shock waves among the parents and the school remained closed for the second consecutive day.
