A class 9 student drowned in the swimming pool of a government school in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar area in the presence of coaches on Friday evening.
The student was learning to swim under the supervision of two coaches when he drowned in the pool of Babu Ram Sarvodaya School. According to the police, Mukul Sharma (14) had joined the swimming classes two days ago as his summer break was on. Sharma, a student of DAV Public School Dayanand Vihar, had gone for the swimming classes with his cousin Vikas, who was present at the spot when the incident happened.
According to Vikas, they reached the school for their swimming classes around 4 pm but it was crowded. Since there were a lot of people inside the pool, Vikas waited while Mukul, who was excited about joining the classes, jumped into the water.
“Vikas said that he was sitting at a table next to the pool, waiting for the next slot but Mukul did not wait. After 20 minutes, Vikas saw a lot of people gathering at a spot in the pool trying to fish someone out. It was Mukul,” a senior police officer said.“I thought someone had got hurt. But I was shocked to see my brother. He was unconscious. All of us tried to blow air into his mouth and rub his chest but he did not respond. We alerted the school authorities and rushed him to the hospital,” Vikas said.
Mukul was declared brought dead at the hospital and his family was informed.
Many students told the police that two coaches were present when the classes were on. But instead of guiding the students, one was sitting in a corner. “We were told that the coach was not paying attention. There were over 15 to 20 people in the pool under the supervision of two coaches who were reportedly not seen inside, one was sitting outside the pool on the wall,” police said.
A case of negligence has been registered against unknown persons. “We still need to ascertain if the school at all had the permission to run a swimming pool and hold classes. ” a senior police officer said. Mukul’s uncle, Anand Sharma alleged that the attitude of the school authorities was so lax that they did not even take the child to the hospital on time.
