Bihar lynching: Autopsy reports say students drowned, kin want CBI probe

The post-mortem report, however, showed no injury marks on bodies of the two victims from the Nirpur private residential school, which was run by Hilsa resident Devendra Prasad Sinha. Sinha was lynched Sunday by a mob after recovery of the two bodies from a shallow ditch.

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The aggrieved parents trashed the “drowning report”, insisting that the 14-year-old victim from Pachwara knew how to swim.

The brother of the other victim, a 10-year-old from Rajgir village, alleged that the school administration had dumped the two bodies in the ditch near the school on Sunday morning.

The role of Nalanda police is also under the scanner for its failure to control the mob and also for being unable to rush the school director to hospital in time for proper medical aid.

Rajiv Kumar, an eyewitness from Juafar village, said Sinha lay unconscious at the spot for at least three hours, with people returning to hit him everytime mediapersons came.

The Nirpur incident has also cast a shadow on Nitish Kumar government’s claims about working to improve the state of the education sector in Bihar. The state government spends Rs 2800 crore on scholarship, uniform and bicycle schemes every year.

Dipak Vishwakarma, a senior Nalanda journalist, claimed 50-60 private residential schools have set up shop in rural areas due to “low quality” education in primary and secondary schools.

Vivek Paswan, father of a six-year-old from Pachwara, said: “Most students bunk their classs at the village school. The teachers are eager to leave school after serving the mid-day meal.”

Manohar, father of the 14-year-old victim, had enrolled the boy in the Nirpur residential school last year and was spending Rs 4000 per month on his education.

“I had put my son in a residential school because he bunked classes and was in Class III despite being 14 years old. I hope no parent now makes the same mistake as these schools don’t ensure safety,” Manohar said.

The incident has shaken the confidence of many parents, who now want government schools to get their act together.

The efforts to ensure that it happens began on Tuesday with parents meeting teachers from Pachwara school to work out the way ahead.