Jamshedpur, Feb. 28: Police believe the principal and the games teacher of DAV Public School (Bistupur) were “negligent” in handling the sudden death of nine-year-old Harshdeep Singh Kalsi on campus early this month.

Deputy superintendent of police Dinesh Oraon, who supervised the probe, added that three of Harshdeep’s classmates — named in the FIR lodged by his father Paramjit — had indeed assaulted him earlier in the day.

Superintend of police Naveen K. Singh, who has received the report but is yet to go through it, said those named may be arrested.

Harshdeep, in Class II of DAV Public School in Bistupur, died under mysterious circumstances after collapsing on campus on February 8. He was rushed to the Tata Main Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. 

While parents and well wishers of the family grappled with the tragedy, no one was sure how a healthy nine-year-old could die in such a fashion. The school couldn’t come up with a convincing answer too.

Later, based on statements of Harshdeep’s younger brother — he is also a student of DAV (Bistupur) — and other boys, the police found out that three of his friends had assaulted him earlier in the day over a quarrel involving Rs 5.

The post-mortem report pointed to brain injuries as the likely cause of death.

Harshdeep’s death, which plunged all of Jamshedpur into mourning, led to a series of protests by parents and members of the community.

In fact, the DAV management even threatened to shut down the school if the protests did not end.

Just when a compromise seemed to be on the cards, the police have come out with their report slapping a negligence charge on principal Papiya Mukherjee and games teacher Kavita Swain.

According to the police, school authorities did not show any urgency when Harshdeep suddenly collapsed inside the campus. Instead of rushing him to hospital, they preferred to wait.

It was, the report noted, Harshdeep’s mother who rushed her son to a nearby medical store and then to the Tata Main Hospital.

Director of the DAV Directorate in Ranchi L R Saini refuted the findings of the probe.

“The school authorities,” he said, “had not shown any negligence. Hence, we are not contemplating any action against the principal and the games teacher.”

Shailender Singh, the president of the Central Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, who has been at the forefront of protests against the school, said the police probe was an eye-opener for other schools of the city.

“The probe shows that school authorities should take responsibility of their students,” he added.