Two Kerala ministers visit parents of snakebite victim Shehala

Two Kerala ministers on Saturday met the parents of 10-year-old Shehala Sherin, who died after being bitten by a snake inside the class, and expressed grief over her death in Wayanad. Kerala Education Minister C Raveendranath and Agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar met the victim's parents at their residence at Puthenkunnu in Sulthan Bathery, Kerala. Raveendranath, hugged Shehala's father, Aziz and apologised for the incident and assured the parents that government would take stringent action against those found guilty.

"I apologise on behalf of everyone," the Education Minister told the girl's parents.

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A UDF delegation led by Opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala, also met the parents of the 10-year-old child. As the ministers were on the their way to Shehala's home on Saturday morning, activists of various political parties waved black flags at them as police tried to remove them. The two ministers spent some time with the family and relatives. Later talking to reporters, Raveendranath said a comprehensive probe would be held into the incident leading to Shehala's death on Wednesday.

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School Officials suspended

After a preliminary probe, three people-- the Principal, Vice Principal and a teacher-- have already been suspended, he said. The Kerala minister said the education department would sanction Rs 2 crore for the school this year itself for carrying out various maintenance activities. Besides, in all schools in Wayanad, a detailed inspection would be held on their state of affairs.

Stressing the need to prepare a comprehensive package for all the schools in Wayanad, he said the government would release necessary amounts. The ministers' visit comes amid continuing protest against authorities of the state-run vocational higher secondary school at Kalpetta in this district who had failed to ensure that Shehala, who was bitten by a snake inside her class on November 20, was rushed to hospital on time. As the protest mounted, the state government had on Friday suspended the principal and vice principal of the school in connection with the student's death.

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Student organisations protested

After a preliminary probe, a teacher, Shijil, had already been suspended for the alleged lapse on Thursday. While her schoolmates had hit the streets vowing not to enter their classrooms till justice was delivered to Shehala, various student organisations took out protest marches to the district collectorate here and in Thiruvananthapuram demanding action against those responsible for her death. Students have alleged that Shehala Sherin was taken to hospital over an hour after the incident at around 3 pm on Wednesday. Though her parents rushed her to four hospitals, no anti-venom was administered and they were told to take the child to the Kozhikode Medical college hospital, which is about 90 km from Sulthan Bathery. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader and Wayanad MP, Rahul Gandhi had expressed shock and grief over the incident.

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