Food poisoning victim’s funeral marked with protests after Govt restricts public

Shailaja, 14, had died on Monday while undergoing treatment at NIMS in Hyderabad.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: The funeral of Ch Shailaja, a Class 9 student, who died after falling victim to food poisoning at the Tribal Welfare department’s Ashram school at Wankidi, was marked with massive protests from different sections of the people against the callousness of the State government. The protests were intensified after the State government tried to restrict public and opposition party leaders from attending the funeral.

Shailaja (14) died while undergoing treatment at NIMS in Hyderabad on Monday. She was one of 64 students who were hospitalized after dinner at the hostel of the school on October 30 and 31. Her body was brought from Hyderabad to the village early in the morning.

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The village came under a thick blanket of security much before the arrival of the body with the police imposing restrictions on entry of outsiders into the village. They set up check-posts in all four directions prohibiting entry of general public and media from about 10 kilometres away from the village.

Due to the restrictions and tight security, it is said that even Shailaja’s parents were not allowed to spend much time with their daughter’s body before it was shifted for the funeral. Their relatives were also not permitted in to the village and pay homage to Shailaja.

The funeral was performed in the afternoon in presence of Additional Collector Deepak Tiwari and RDO Lokeshwar Rao. Police cordoned off the spot of the funeral, according to reports from the village.

Earlier, villagers and members of various organisations staged a dharna protesting against Shailaja’s death. They did not allow the officials to hand over her body to parents. They withdrew their protest after the Additional Collector assured them to extend a job and a house under the Indiramma housing scheme.

However, parents Thukaram and Meerabai expressed displeasure and sought clarity from the district authorities on the compensation. They wanted five acres of land, compensation and a government job. They said their dreams were shattered following the death of their daughter. They requested the officials to take steps to fulfill their demand.

On the other hand, several BRS and BJP leaders including Asifabad MLA Kova Lakshmi, Sirpur (T) MLA Harish Babu, MLC Dande Vittal and others were prevented from visiting the village. Kova Lakshmi was in fact placed under house arrest in Asifabad from Monday night itself. Speaking to the media later, she Shailaja’s death was in fact a murder by the government.