School administration's negligence behind 11-year-old's death in Karachi: investigation report

KARACHI: A police team on Thursday held school administration responsible for an 11-year-old student’s death who they assume jumped from the school building’s rooftop to end his life, ARY News reported.

According to a report prepared by the investigation team, school administration’s negligence and violation several safety and building rules allowed the incident in which an 11-year-old student Habibullah fell to his death from the building’s rooftop on October 8.

The report maintained  that the child was suffering from diabetes and his poor family was unable to afford his medical treatment and his educational expenses so it can be assumed that he may have himself jumped to his death but cited several irregularities and violations of building control rules by the school administration which led to the incident.

The report states that school administration’s negligence allowed Habibullah to jump or fall to his death from the schools’ rooftop as the administration built four class rooms on the rooftop and the boundary wall around the rooftop too was not high enough to prevent any untoward incident, all in violation of Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) rules.

“The boundary wall should have been at least eight feet high, barbed wire should have been put over the wall and security staff should have been deployed there to prevent any untoward incident as students took classes in rooms illegally built on the rooftop,” the report says.

https://arynews.tv/en/11-year-old-dies-after-falling-off-school-building-in-karachi/

The police team also objected upon lack of surveillance cameras around the school building as there were only two cameras around the school, one on the main gate while on the street end, one of which recorded the child’s death.

The report concludes by saying that the child may have jumped to his death out of frustration to bring an end to his miseries but the death has clearly pointed out at the negligence of school administration.

“CCTV cameras should be installed in the school, watchmen should be deployed, the (rooftop’s) boundary wall height should be increased and it should be further protected with barbed wire,” reads the report.

Signed by SHO Iftikhar Ahmed and submitted to SP Liaquatabad, the report suggests legal action against school administration over their negligence so that “any future Habibullah’s life should be saved”.

It is pertinent to note here that a police team led by SP Liaquatabad Shabbir Baloch yesterday visited the the school located in Samanabad area to launch probe into Habibullah’s mysterious death.

https://arynews.tv/en/police-team-metropolis-academy-mysterious-death/

During the visit covered by media, the school’s principal had said that he is in favour of a transparent investigation and is even ready to be “thrown off the same roof” if found negligent.

The seventh grade student fell to his death from the roof of his school building on Monday, October 8, with school administration terming the death as suicide, a claim the boy’s parents strongly deny.