Student’s Neck Pierced by Javelin in Balangir: NHRC seeks ATR Report

Bhubaneswar: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked Odisha’s Schools and Mass Education Department to provide an action taken report (ATR) regarding the December 17 accident in which a Class 9 student was seriously injured when a javelin pierced his neck during the annual sports meet at Agalpur Boy’s Panchayat High School in Balangir district.

The javelin was thrown by another student during a practice session. It stuck the right side of the neck of a Class 9 student Sadanand Meher. The tip of the javelin came out from the left side of his neck. But the seriously wounded student could be saved through a surgical procedure at Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Balangir.

Addressing to a petition filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC directed the concerned authorities to submit a compliance report within eight weeks.

In his petition before the NHRC, Tripathy alleged that this accident reflected the negligence by the school authorities towards the safety and security of the students and gross violations of human rights.