The State Cabinet on Friday sanctioned Rs 10 lakh as solatium to the family of Shehla Sherin, the fifth-standard student of Government Sarvajana Vocational Higher Secondary School at Sultan Bathery, Wayanad, who died after a snake bit her during class hours. The money has been given out of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.
The 10-year-old girl was bitten by a snake after her leg got stuck in one of the holes in the floor of her classroom on November 20. Not only was she not rushed to the hospital for emergency medical care but even the nearby government taluk hospital shunted her to another hospital saying it did not have adequate emergency facilities. It was also alleged that the doctor refused to administer the anti-venom even after a request was made.
It was also alleged that the teachers of the school did not believe the child when she said she was bitten by a snake and refused to take her to a hospital till her father arrived. The school officials and the doctor were later suspended.
An inquiry report by Wayanad district judge M Harris, who is also the chairperson of district legal services authority, had implicated the school and hospital authorities. The report had found that the teachers had wasted half an hour. The girl was bitten at 3:10pm and her father received a call from the school at 3:42pm. The report had also found it both odd and grave that no teacher accompanied the father when he took Shehla to the hospital.
Justice Harris submitted the report to the High Court just when the teachers and the doctor held responsible for the Shehla Sherin’s death have moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail.
Earlier on Friday, Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi visited Shehla's house in Sultan Bathery. He also visited the Sarvajana Vocational Higher Secondary School where the incident occurred and interacted with the students. He also promised to work hard for a medical college in Wayanad.
