Student falls off window, dies

Darjeeling: A Class-IX student of Narayana School in Jatiakhali, Siliguri, fell from the second floor out of an open window and died. Another student, who also fell off the window, is admitted to a private hospital with injuries.

Prima facie the two boys pushed each other while playing and they fell off the sliding windows on Monday.

The deceased Rishab Arya was from Purnia, Bihar. "The grill of the classroom had loosened and had been removed for replacement. The workman was not present as had gone to his sister's wedding," said Santosh Kumar Yadav, deputy general manager of the school.

The school remained closed on Tuesday and will remain closed on Wednesday also for maintainance work stated Yadav. The body of the deceased student was handed over to his father on Thursday.

"We have nothing to say. Rishab had plans to go for higher studies to Delhi. Everything has ended," stated Arun Kumar, his father. The other student Ritwick Kumar Singh is a day scholar. He suffered multiple fractures.

These two students were near the window which had the open slide. They were rushed to a private nursing home. "We feel that there has been a sheer lapse on the part of the authorities. How can a student fall out of a window during school hours? They should have a safety and security monitoring system in place," stated Sandipan Bhattacharya, president, Guardian's Forum of North Bengal.