Hyderabad, Nov. 17: A four-year-old girl died in her school elevator after her leg got caught in a door and the cage started moving up with other students whose screams alerted the institute to the unfolding tragedy.
Syeda Xanaib Fatima remained stuck in the door for more than half an hour. Eventually, school officials and police managed to extricate her and take her to a nearby hospital in Hyderabad where she was declared brought dead.
Hospital sources said the child's death would most probably have been instantaneous.
The lift has two doors, according to school sources. The girl's leg slipped out through the inner door with a grille and got caught in the outer door, by when the elevator had started to move up, the sources added.
A PTI report said seven other students and a teacher were in the lift that was on its way from the ground floor to the third floor. The sanctioned capacity of the lift could not be ascertained.
"The students were jostling for space and pulling at each other's bags inside the lift. As someone had pressed the button for the above floors, the elevator started moving and the girl's leg and head were pressed between the elevator and the first-floor concrete roof," Malakpet inspector A. Ganga Reddy said.
The tragedy took place in Star Kids Primary School, run by Sri Chaitanya Group that focuses on education, in Dilsukhnagar, one of the largest commercial and residential centres in Hyderabad. Preferred by middle-class and upper middle-class families, the school charges monthly fees ranging from Rs 750 to Rs 1,300 plus Rs 300 for transport and a glass of milk.
The principal and the child's teacher have been arrested, the police said.
"Principal Shalini and teacher Saroja were arrested on the charge of negligence," deputy commissioner of police (east zone) A. Ravinder told PTI. Reddy, the inspector, said efforts were on to track down Satish, the zonal in-charge of the private school's management, who is untraceable.
Around 9.45am, the grandfather of the girl, S.H. Zaida, received a phone call from the school asking the family to rush there.
"When we reached, we found Fatima's head trapped in the lift. No one from the school bothered to explain what had happened. The police were on the spot and were trying to rescue the girl," Zaida said. The lift door was prised open with a crowbar.
Based on a complaint filed by the family of the girl, a case under IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence) and relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act has been registered against the school management.
Scores of angry parents have demanded an investigation into why a nursery school is operating from a three-storey building and whether the school had permission to build an elevator.
Soon after the incident, several parents gathered outside the school and protested. Many policemen were called in to control the situation.
The police said investigations were on to establish whether the school had permission to operate the lift and whether it had appointed a lift operator.
"The child's father is in Dubai. It is the school's responsibility to take care of our children," said a parent who had rushed to the school.