Child drowning case: Parents refute PIB release

Kolkata: The parents of four-year-old Sambuddha Ghosh, who died at Asha School run by the army welfare association on February 20, have reacted sharply against the letter issued by PIB (Defence wing) govt of India in this regard, on Friday.

In the letter, the parents claimed that the school charges Rs 66,000 per year, despite being run by the army welfare association. No teacher or staff had bothered to inform them when Sambuddha died, they said. "The school is not cooperating, which is delaying the case diary process. Also, except a handful, no parent has given a statement to police yet. The principal is chasing those who have given a statement," they claimed.

The parents further wrote that from different sources they had come to know that the parent-teacher meeting which was held on February 25 was all about the future processes and not about condoling Sambuddha's death.

In a release, the PIB (Defence wing) of the Government of India had written that after the Sports Day event on February 20, an unfortunate incident occurred wherein Sambuddha Ghosh died by drowning in the hydrotherapy pool of the school. The incident was immediately reported by the school management to Alipore police station and Sambuddha's parents.

"The police are carrying out its investigation into the matter with full cooperation from school authorities, while the Army has also ordered a fact finding board to give its recommendations and put in place effective measures to obviate recurrence of such incidents. The management and the Army express their deepest condolences to the parents and relatives of the child," the release stated.