NHRC Issues Notice to Maharashtra Over Deaths of 3 Girls in Gadchiroli School
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Maharashtra government following the deaths of three tribal girls who were bitten by a snake inside their hostel at Japtalai Ashram School in Gadchiroli district.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the NHRC termed the matter a "serious issue of human rights violation" and directed the state government to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The commission sought details on the circumstances leading to the deaths and the medical condition of three other students who survived the snakebite.
Six girls in total were bitten by the snake inside the hostel. Three victims, aged eight, 12, and 14, died from the bites. The three surviving students were admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital and Gadchiroli Civil Hospital, where they recovered and were discharged on Friday morning.
Citing media reports, the NHRC highlighted poor living conditions at the hostel, noting that as many as 79 girl students were reportedly accommodated in a single room. The commission pointed out that the hostel has been functioning for roughly 25 years while allegedly lacking basic facilities, and noted that Gadchiroli records a high number of snakebite cases annually.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered the permanent cancellation of the school's licence and directed officials to shift all students to another school. Tribal Development Minister Dr Ashok Uike and Co-Guardian Minister Ashish Jaiswal also visited the school premises to assess the situation.
Police have arrested the headmaster of Japtalai Ashram School, Prashant Tatpalliwar, 51, and male warden Bhaskar Bhoyar, 50. Both were produced before a court in Gadchiroli on Thursday afternoon and remanded in magisterial custody for 15 days, according to Dhanora SDPO Jagdish Pande, who is investigating the case.
Investigators have also named former Lok Sabha member Marotrao Kowase, chairman of the Kuparlingo Sanstha trust that runs the school, and his son Vishwajit Kowase, the trust's secretary, as co-accused in the case. The case has been registered under Sections 106(1), 125(A), 125(B), and 3 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
