Kerala snakebite death: School authorities suspended; CM claims probe

The Principal and Vice-principal of Sarvajana Government Higher Secondary School in Wayanad's Sulthan Bathery were suspended on Friday following a snake bite incident in the school which claimed the life of a girl student. On Wednesday, nine-year-old Shehla Sherin lost her life due to the gross apathy of school authorities and four hospitals denying and delaying emergency treatment to the child.

The staff and students allegedly did not take emergency measures after the nine-year old narrated the incident. The father of the victim was informed hours later and was asked to take her to the hospital, however, the damage was already done. 

Even after reaching the hospital, Shehla could not get the emergency medical treatment that she needed. She was first taken to a private hospital which denied her treatment citing that they did not have anti-venom. After this, she was referred to Government Taluk Hospital at Sulthan Bathery. Upon seeing Shehla's condition, the doctors in the ward panicked calling for an ambulance that took her to another hospital. Yet again at Vythiri Taluk Hospital, she was denied treatment and finally during the shuttling and shuffling from one hospital to another, Shehla breathed her last upon reaching Good Shepherd Hospital. 

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier promised to take strict action against those responsible for the apathy, he addressed the same in a post on Facebook. "Fellow students say that even after they pleaded the teachers to take the student to the hospital they completely ignored it. The incident is deeply saddening and I will interfere to ensure strict action is taken," he said.

"Teachers are supposed to teach students how to respond to a situation like this. But we came to know that some of the teachers in the school refused to take the child to the hospital on time despite the demands from students,” he said.

Moreover, the Director of Public Education has directed the Additional Director (Academic) to conduct a departmental inquiry into Sarvajana Secondary School in Kerala and submit a report  The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also taken a suo moto case against the teachers of Sarvajana in the incident.

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