Kolkata: Diptangshu Mahato, a class 12 student of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, died hours after drinking hot tea at school on Tuesday. The headmaster, Swami Ishteshananda, on Wednesday offered to resign while three staffers — Sourav Taru Biswas, Somnath Bairagi, and Samaresh Dhara — have been suspended over allegations of assault and harassment of students.Earlier, his family lodged a complaint with Narendrapur PS, alleging gross negligence on the part of the school authorities. Diptangshu’s father, Manaranjan Mahato, a lawyer at Calcutta High Court, alleged: “I lost my son because of the negligence of the school authorities. Why did they wait for me to arrive before taking him to a hospital? Had they admitted him immediately, his life could have been saved. Why did the doctor suggest an endoscopy to be conducted later instead of referring him to a hospital, where he could have received immediate medical attention? My son suffered severe burns to his digestive tract, which led to oxygen deprivation. He required urgent treatment. Yet, the school authorities neither took any initiative to provide primary treatment nor did they inform me immediately.”In his complaint, Manaranjan said that around 11.20 am, while he was in court, he received a call from the school informing him that his son had fallen ill. They asked him to come immediately. “I reached the school around 1 pm and found my son in a critical condition. He was unable to speak properly and was coughing continuously. I was told that between 9.45 am and 10 am, he drank hot tea from a flask,” the complaint stated.He further said, “I carried my son and his belongings to my vehicle. After taking a sip of water, he rested his head on my chest and then became completely unresponsive.”Mahato took him to the nearest hospital but they allegedly refused to admit the boy. He then drove to a private hospital near Salt Lake, where doctors in the emergency department declared Diptangshu dead.Demanding a probe, he told TOI: “I asked my son why he swallowed the drink when he realised it was too hot. He said he did not want to dirty the floor. Where was the housemaster? Why did he fail to care for the students?”A section of students and parents have levelled allegations of physical and mental torture against the headmaster, housemasters, PGs, and hostel staffers. Allegations have also surfaced against one hostel staffer for routinely torturing students in an inebriated state every Friday.A meeting was held among students, parents, and the Mission authorities, which was attended by secretary of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Swami Shastrajnananda.Diptangshu’s friends protested at NRS Hospital, demanding action against the school authorities. An unnatural death case has been registered, and police are probing.(With inputs from Monotosh Chakraborty)
