Class 6 girl dies days after being made to perform '100 sit-ups' in school for coming late; probe on
Palghar (PTI): A Class 6 student of a private school in Maharashtra's Palghar district died nearly a week after she was allegedly made to perform 100 sit-ups as punishment for coming late, prompting the authorities to launch a probe.
Anshika Gaud, a student of the school located at Sativali in the Vasai area, passed away in a Mumbai hospital on Friday night.
According to members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Anshika and four other students were made to perform 100 sit-ups each for reaching school late on November 8.
The deceased girl's mother alleged that her daughter died as a result of an "inhuman punishment" given by her teacher, who made her perform sit-ups with her school bag on her back.
Sachin More, an MNS leader from Vasai, claimed she was punished despite having pre-existing health problems.
A teacher from the school said, "It is not known how many sit-ups this child had done. One really does not know if she died due to it or otherwise."
Block Education Officer Pandurang Galange said an inquiry is being conducted into Anshika's death.
"The probe will reveal the exact cause of her death,” he said. No police complaint has been filed as yet, said officials.
Talking to media persons, the deceased girl's mother said her child's health condition deteriorated rapidly after she was subjected to corporal punishment.
"After the punishment, she experienced severe pain in her neck and back, and could not get up," she said.
The woman said that when she learnt about the incident and her daughter's condition, she went to the school and confronted the teacher.
"I was told that the students were punished for coming late to school. The teacher justified the punishment, saying the parents otherwise accuse them of not teaching the students despite paying fees," she said.
"I told the teacher that punishing the students does not mean forcing them to perform sit-ups with bags on their back. The teacher gave my daughter inhuman punishment, which led to her death," she said.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
