Cuncolim Student shifted to General Ward from ICU: SP Sunita Sawant

The case is transferred from Cuncolim Police Station to Women’s Police Station Margao.

Herald pic

Published on:

03 Oct 2024, 3:06 pm

PANJIM/CUNCOLIM: The girl who was allegedly assaulted at a Cuncolim School is improving, at Goa Medical College, South Goa SP Sunita Sawant has said. She has been shifted to the general ward from the Intensive Care Unit, at GMC. The case is transferred from Cuncolim Police Station to Women’s Police Station Margao. An offence of negligence has been filed against the school. On Thursday, the police visited the school and collected the CCTV footage as evidence.

“I have visited the girl at Goa Medical College, she is well. She has been brought from the ICU to the General Ward. She even asked for biscuits from the mother. She is improving, that is a good sign,” Sunita Sawant, SP South Goa told O Heraldo.

Talking about the case, SP Sawant said, “A fight occurred between students. They are third standard students, so you can understand, they are small in age. The incident occurred during change of periods, about two or three minutes, when one teacher left the class and the other teacher came to the class. The allegation is that the teacher was told that the girl is crying and the teacher did not show the sensitivity to give attention to the girl, and due to this there was a delay in taking the girl to the doctor.”

SP Sawant disclosed that the case has been transferred from the Cuncolim police station, to the Women’s Police Station Margao, due to allegation of lack of sensitivity, by Cuncolim police. Police has accepted their complaint, investigations have begun and an FIR has been filed.

Meanwhile, an NGO has asserted that there is no evidence of serious violent assault in the CCTV footage, by the other 8 year old girl. Parents and residents had gathered at the Cuncolim police station to demand action against the School management on Wednesday.

“The investigating officer was in the school right from 8 am and all the CCTV footage has been seized to find out if there is any negligence, because all the events are captured in the CCTV cameras in the school. The headmistress and the teacher have been asked to join the investigation. But first we have to go through the evidence and we will do the investigation impartially,”

Sunita Sawant, Superintendent of Police, South Goa

An NGO representative has said that the CCTV footage does not show that there was a violent assault. How can another 8 year old child cause such serious damage, with her bare hands, that too within a matter of three minutes. Also a parent offered to take the child to the doctor, but on the way the mother of the girl stopped the car to keep her helmet somewhere, so the parent itself delayed going to the doctor. It is possible that the girl may have previous injury, because an 8 year old hitting another 8 year old with her bare hand, cannot cause such injury.