Moga javelin death: Govt orders inquiry, Rs 1 lakh relief to boy’s family, mother gets job

The state government on Thursday marked an inquiry into the death of 15-year-old boy after being hit by a javelin at a government school here.

The Punjab government also gave a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the victim and a job to his mother.

Hira Singh, a student of the government senior secondary school at Talwandi Malliyan village was killed on Wednesday after being hit by a javelin in his chest. The boy had gone to retrieve a soccer ball from a nearby ground where javelin throwers were practising when the tragedy struck.

District education officer (secondary) Amardeep Singh Khokhar has formed a two-member committee, including principal Gurdial Singh and head master Sumitinder Singh, to inquire the matter and submit a report at the earliest.

Meanwhile, it has come to light that no teacher present on the ground for supervision when the incident took place.

Sources said the post of physical education teacher has been lying vacant since the school was upgraded. The school is facing acute staff shortage.

“Apart from PT teacher, the school even doesn’t have a principal, lecturer and art craft teacher. There are only 12 teachers in the school of which two are on maternity leave and two others have been deputed at a seminar,” they added.

Sources said it becomes difficult for the remaining teachers to keep tabs on 300 students in the school.

“Had there been a teacher on the ground, the tragedy could have been averted,” said Gurdev Singh, deceased’s uncle.

Agriculture minister Tota Singh, who attended Hira’s cremation o at his village on Thursday, announced `1 lakh compensation to the family and a Class-4 job for the victim’s mother at the same school.

Dharamkot sub-divisional magistrate Jaspal Singh handed over the compensation cheque to the family and asked village sarpanch to pass a resolution to provide a job to deceased’s mother under Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) policy at the school.

“I am also conducting an independent inquiry to ascertain the reason of death and will submit the report to Moga deputy commissioner Moga,” said the SDM.

Police have failed to identify the player who had thrown the javelin as teachers and students were not disclosing the name.

On the complaint of Hira’s father, Harpal Singh, the Mehna police had registered a case of causing death by negligence against an unidentified person under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code.