PANJIM: A police inquiry has found that the incident of 14 students who were admitted in the hospital following breathlessness in a higher secondary school at Bicholim was an act of mischief suspected to have occurred due to spraying of pepper spray.
The inquiry has revealed that although the management of Shree Shantadurga Higher Secondary School has opined that the incident of mischief occurred on August 17, was due to pungent smokey smell of e-cigarette, which caused or affected the inhalation or breathless to the students, the overall inquiry has revealed that prima facie it was an alleged incident of mischief by some class XI students and suspected to have occurred due to pepper spray only.
As per the inquiry report, as many as 14 girl students had symptoms of breathlessness or suffocation due to the incident and had undergone medical treatment in the government hospitals. Six students were discharged from the community health centre (CHC), Bicholim while, eight students were referred to the North Goa District Hospital, Mapusa for further medical treatment. Of these, only one student was later admitted to the GMC, Bambolim for medical treatment.
Following the incident, five students including a girl were suspended by the management for a period of one-month for their alleged incidents of mischief. The higher secondary school had also sought permission from the Director of Education to terminate two students as similar kind of incident had taken place on August 11 as well at the same school and it went unnoticed.
The Bicholim police is learnt to have written to the medical officer of Community Health Centre, Bicholim, the Medical Superintendent of North Goa District Hospital, Mapusa and the medical superintendent of Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, with request to provide their findings or opinion on the symptoms in terms of medical examination for exact cause of illness or sickness of the affected students into alleged incident of mischief.
The medical examination report from the respective hospitals are awaited.
It may be recalled that Director of Education Shailesh S Zingde had issued a show cause notice to the chairman of Shree Shantadurga Higher Secondary School, Bicholim, asking him as to why action deemed fit should not be initiated against them for failing to prevent such incidents in the school premises. The management of higher secondary school was asked to submit its reply to the department.
After the incident, the Bicholim police had written to the school management to install adequate CCTV cameras in the institution premises including classrooms.
Meanwhile, the Bicholim PI Rahul Naik has also directed beat staff and patrolling staff to maintain frequent and constant police patrolling near to the institution.
