A mob attacked a prominent girls’ school here on Tuesday after a Class VI student fell sick in her classroom and died after being rushed to the hospital.
Sources said that around 12.40pm, Anushka Debnath, 11, a Class VI student of Newtown Girls High School in Alipurduar town, with around 2,400 students, suddenly complained of unease and started vomiting.
Teachers rushed Anushka to the district hospital. Doctors at the emergency ward examined her and advised her hospitalisation. On the way to the female ward, the child died.
“We couldn’t believe she was no more,” said a teacher accompanying Anushka.
Sources said that as the news of Anushka's death spread, several students wept, some guardians came over and school authorities decided to suspend classes and asked students to go home.
Around 2pm, after the students left, around 400 people, including guardians, gathered in front of the school and abused teachers. Soon, some threw stones at the building and some tried to break open the main gate.
The mayhem continued for an hour, with the attackers alleging Anushka died because "teachers delayed in taking the ill girl to the hospital".
Fearful teachers hid in classrooms. Around 3.15pm, a police team reached the spot and dispersed the agitators.
Mridul Goswami, a Trinamul leader and school managing committee president, said there was no negligence on the part of the teachers who "immediately took her to the hospital".
Anushka’s father Rajib Debnath, who runs a pharmacy, said she had caught pneumonia a couple of years back. Doctors haven't yet shared the cause of her sudden death.