Sushil Koirala to discuss Sherwood boy’s death with Narendra Modi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, November 24, 2014:  Nepal PM Sushil Koirala has promised the bereaved family of Shaan Prajapati that he will seek a fair probe into the Sherwood College student’s death during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit Kathmandu for the upcoming SAARC summit this week.

Modi will travel to Kathmandu on November 26 and 27 for the SAARC convention. Shaan’s mother Neena Shrestha and his uncle Ujjwal Thapa, an alumnus of Sherwood College, had met Koirala on Friday seeking justice.

In Delhi, former students of the college held a condolence meet on Sunday and claimed that raising the matter in an international forum would ensure such incidents didn’t recur in an institution of such repute. Yeshaswee Shrestha, Shaan’s sister who was present at the condolence meeting, lamented that the students were not safe in the institution - a topmost boarding school in the country. "Shaan was suffering from a curable disease, but the college does not have proper medical infrastructure. Had he received medical care on time, his life could have been saved," Shreshtha told Mail Today.

The college alumni alleged negligence on part of the college authority and demanded immediate dismissal of Principal Amandeep Sandhu. Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, the college alumni alleged that the callous attitude of the college staff led to Shaan’s death.

"Such an incident is unprecedented. There had been accidents in the college in the past, but an incident of this nature is certainly not acceptable. We should ensure that such incidents are not repeated," said Lt.Gen. (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, an alumnus of Sherwood College. Hasnain said he would write to Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani seeking action against the guilty. Dr. Paul Swaroop, another alumnus of the college, accused the college authority of acting negligently though the teen was critically ill.

Meanwhile, a campaign seeking justice for Shaan flooded social media. A Facbook page named ’Justice For Shaan’ was launched on Tuesday and now has more than 8,300 followers.

"Shaan’s mother has lodged a complaint with Noida police, raising questions on the conduct of the college authorities. The same charges have been included in the zero FIR, which has been later transferred to Nainital," said Vipin Belwal, a Delhi-based alumnus of the college.

A case has been registered against the school authorities under Section 304 A of the IPC (causing death due to negligence). Shaan had died of septicaemia on November 14 after he fell ill on November 11.

When his condition deteriorated, the authorities of Nainital-based college rushed him to a private hospital in Haldwani on November 13. He was later shifted to a Noida hospital where he succumbed to the illness.

 

Courtesy: Indiatoday