Team Herald
CUNCOLIM: A large crowd gathered at the Cuncolim police station, demanding the immediate arrest of the headmistress and a class teacher of St Anthony’s Primary School in Veroda. The angry mob of around 300 people accused the school management and teachers of negligence, which allegedly led to a nine-year-old student suffering a head injury during a fight with classmates. The child is still fighting for her life at Goa Medical College (GMC).
The third standard student was reportedly injured following an altercation with other students in her class on Friday. Her father filed a complaint at the Cuncolim police station the day of the incident, but the police failed to register an FIR against the teachers even after a week, sparking outrage among the parents. The crowd marched to the police station, accusing the police of being under pressure from the school management to suppress the case.
According to locals, the school management did not take proper action when the girl fell unconscious. Instead of calling for a ‘108 ambulance’, it was the girl’s mother who, with the help of relatives, took her to the hospital. The delay in providing medical care is believed to have worsened the child’s condition. Locals claim that if the school had acted promptly, the girl’s life would not have been in such danger.
Further, the mob alleged that the school management, in collusion with the police, is trying to destroy evidence and intimidate parents and members of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). They also claimed that fake signatures were obtained to suppress the issue. The school’s failure to provide CCTV footage to the police has raised further suspicions, and as a result, the case has been handed over to the Crime Branch.
The crowd warned that if the headmistress and class teacher were not arrested by the next morning, they would stage a sit-in protest at the police station. Superintendent of Police Santosh Desai and other officers addressed the crowd, explaining that the female teachers could not be arrested after sunset due to legal restrictions. However, they assured the crowd that arrests would be made the following morning.