Tension grips Siraha following death of school girl

Mirchaiya-3 in Siraha district remained tense following the death of a school girl.

Srijana Kumari Mahara, 16, who studied at local Sagarmatha Higher Secondary School, was admitted to local Fulbari Memorial Hospital as she fell ill after consuming a bottle of spirit. On Friday, she was taken ill after mistakenly drinking a bottle of spirit while taking medicine, according to the school.

She died at the hospital on Saturday night, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Hari Bahadur Oli.

Following death of the girl, students and parents in protest vandalised the school building, and obstructed the East-West Highway.

The police shot tear gas shells and opened five bullets in the air to disperse the crowd, said Chief District Officer Lal Babu Kabari.

She by a mistake drank a bottle of spirit while taking a medicine for a stomach pain given by a schoolteacher Ambika Lamsal, said the deceased’s father Dharmendra.

She died for want of timely treatment, he claimed. The school principal Pradip Tiwari took ailing Srijana home instead of taking to a hospital, he maintained.

“The head teacher said the intake volume of spirit was meagre and she would recover after a nap and we were convinced by him. We rushed her to a hospital when the situation worsened but we were already late,” the father said.

Two apprehended

Police have arrested the teacher who allegedly provided the chemical substance to the student mistaking it as drinking water and Principal Pradeep Tiwari after the girl’s father lodged a FIR against them.

According to DSP Oli, investigations into the case are underway. “The school has also accepted the occurrence of the incident and investigation goes on to further specify the incident,” he said.