The Hindu : Front Page : 2 children killed as live wire falls on school building

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

2 children killed as live wire falls on school building

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, OCT. 18. Two schoolchildren were killed and seven injured when a high-tension wire fell on a government school building in Shariefabad village of Budgam district in Kashmir today.

The students were writing an examination when the incident occurred.

Soon after the incident, over 1,000 villagers gathered and pelted stones. Some set ablaze the nearby receiving station of the Power Development Department (PDD). They raised slogans against the department officials and blocked the traffic.

The protesters refused to yield even as police tried to bring order. "We do not want anything but our sons back," said one of them.

The Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, Khawja Bashir Ahmed, who visited the spot, told The Hindu that a case had been registered against the officials. A high-level inquiry would be ordered into the incident.

Though there was negligence, only a "full-fledged inquiry will reveal everything," Mr. Bashir said.

The State Education Minister, Harshdev Singh, expressing grief over the incident, said: "This happened due to the collapse of the high-tension wire and I am deeply pained over the death of the two children."

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2 children killed as live wire falls on school building