Bihar school ceiling plaster falls on students; 1 dead, 6 injured

Bettiah (Bihar): A six-year-old class one student died and seven others were injured in Bettiah town Tuesday when chunks of the ceiling plaster of their school fell on them in Bihar's West Champaran district.

The incident occurred when the classes were on in the private school, Superintendent of Police Jayant Kant said. There were around 25-30 students in the class when the ceiling plaster fell, he said.

The injured children were rushed to MJK Medical College where one of them succumbed to injuries during the treatment, Kant said. The deceased has been identified as Vaibhav Kumar Raj, he said.

The officer said the school management tried to conceal evidence at the occurrence site for which an FIR would be lodged and action would be taken against it after an inquiry. He said police personnel have been deployed at the school.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed profound grief over the death of the student and directed officials to give ex-gratia to the bereaved family without delay, an official release said.

He also asked the officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured children. District Magistrate Nilesh Ramchandra Devre, Sub Divisional Magistrate Vidyanath Paswan, Sub Divisional Police Officer Pankaj Kumar Rawat, besides the SP inspected the spot and visited the hospital.

Parents of the children and their relatives along with the locals blocked the road on which the school is situated in protest against the incident. Police resorted to baton charge to control the situation and clear the blockade when the protestors started throwing stones.