Rayagada: The School and Mass Education Department has initiated disciplinary action against five staff members of an upgraded high school at Paikadakuluguda in Rayagada district, a day after four students sustained burn injuries in a shocking incident on the school campus.
Show-cause notices have been issued to the headmaster and four primary teachers, and their salaries have been temporarily withheld. Officials said further steps will be taken after the completion of a departmental inquiry into the incident.
Tension prevailed near the school on Tuesday when parents of the injured students, supported by local residents, gathered on the premises and questioned the teachers over how such an incident could occur within the school. Police were deployed after receiving information and managed to calm the situation, assuring the crowd that strict action would be taken against those responsible.
Earlier, the headmaster had filed a complaint at the Muniguda police station. Police later visited the hospital where the injured students are undergoing treatment and recorded their statements.
Based on preliminary information, some students alleged that the son of the school peon called the four students into a room on the first floor, poured colour thinner on them, and set them on fire. Following this, police registered a case against the accused.
Among the injured, the condition of Biraja Takri remains critical. He has been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for advanced medical care, police sources confirmed.
