Ballia School Tragedy: Class 4 Student Dies After Touching High-Tension Wire; Three School Officials Arrested

BALLIA: A routine school activity turned fatal in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district when an 11-year-old boy lost his life after coming into contact with a high-voltage electricity wire on the rooftop of his school.

The incident has triggered public outrage, with villagers demanding accountability from both the school authorities and the electricity department.

The deceased, Arshad Ahmed, was a Class 4 student at Naveen Pokhara Primary School. According to the police, he climbed onto the school terrace on Monday to collect bottle gourds growing there.

He reportedly came into contact with a high-tension power line running dangerously close to the rooftop and died on the spot.

Police investigations have raised concerns over how the child was allowed to access the terrace. An officer said Arshad had allegedly gone upstairs at the direction of a teacher.

Preliminary findings further indicate that he was barefoot and the rooftop had become slippery following rainfall, increasing the danger.

In a significant development, police arrested three members of the school’s teaching staff on Tuesday. Those taken into custody include headmaster Vijay Shankar, assistant teacher Anil Kumar and contractual teacher Deepchandra Ram.

They have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A court subsequently remanded all three to judicial custody.

Garwar police station in-charge Hitesh Kumar confirmed the arrests and said an official from the electricity department had also been named in the case.

Police have registered a case against the department’s junior engineer and are attempting to locate him for further investigation.

Electricity department faces questions over repeated complaints

The school authorities have reportedly told investigators that the dangerous position of the overhead electricity line had been brought to the electricity department’s attention several times.

According to their account, the junior engineer had repeatedly assured them that corrective measures would be taken, but the problem remained unresolved.

The allegation has brought the electricity department’s response to safety complaints under scrutiny. Investigators are expected to examine whether timely intervention could have prevented the tragedy.

Villagers protest, demand compensation and government job

The incident sparked anger in Bisukia village, where Arshad’s family and other residents gathered at the school to demand action against those held responsible.

The protesters sought compensation of Rs 1 crore for the bereaved family and a government job for one of its members.

The demonstration turned tense when villagers reportedly prevented teachers from leaving the school premises and held them there for several hours.

The situation remained volatile until senior police officers, administrative officials and education department representatives arrived.

The authorities eventually brought the situation under control after assuring the protesters that strict action would be taken against those found responsible.

They also promised to place the family’s compensation and employment demands before the appropriate higher authorities.

Arshad’s father, Izhar Ahmad, who works as a tailor in Chennai, returned home on Tuesday after receiving news of his son’s death.

Following the postmortem examination, the police handed over the child’s body to his family for the last rites in Bisukia village.

The incident has once again drawn attention to the risks posed by poorly positioned high-voltage electricity lines near school buildings and the need for effective coordination between educational institutions and electricity authorities to prevent such avoidable tragedies.