Odisha school shocker: Class 2 girl falls asleep, spends night in locked classroom; found with head stuck in window grill in escape bid; headmaster suspended | Bhubaneswar News

KEONJHAR: A seven-year-old girl in the district spent the whole night locked inside her classroom and was found with her head stuck in the window grill on Friday morning, resulting in her rescue and the headmaster getting suspended for alleged negligence.Jyotsna Dehuri, a Class II student of Anjar Upper Primary School under Banspal block, was apparently left behind after school hours on Thursday, after she possibly fell asleep and went unnoticed. The classroom was locked from outside, trapping her inside overnight.Jyotsna has three siblings — two sisters and a brother. Her eldest sister stays in a govt-run residential school and studies in Class IX while another sister is in Class VI and had returned home from school. Her brother goes to an anganwadi centre. Her parents, both daily wagers, returned home around 9 pm but were not worried when they didn’t find Jyotsna as she would often go and stay at her aunt’s place, which is in the same village.Early on Friday, when her father went to look for her at his sister’s place, they couldn’t find her there. Worried, family members launched a frantic search and reached the school around 9 am, when they saw Jyotsna trying to free herself from the window grill.Following efforts from the family and villagers, her head was finally freed from the iron grill. According to Jyotsna, she had managed to get her body out, but her head got stuck. Jyotsna was later taken to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital and her condition is said to be stable. The incident sparked tension in the area, prompting police from Keonjhar Sadar station to reach the school.The school has 65 students from Classes I to VIII and only four teachers. Due to space constraints, students from Classes I and II, along with pre-primary children, share a single room. Only seven students study in Class II.Headmaster Goura Charan Mohanta claimed that lulled by the rainy weather, the girl had fallen asleep and was inadvertently locked inside. “She was rescued and taken for treatment. She is completely fine,” Mohanta said.Locals, however, questioned the lack of basic checks before locking the classroom and demanded accountability. They also pointed out that youths often spend nights on the school verandah, and yet no one heard the child’s cries for help.Block education officer (BEO) Dasharathi Sundhi and assistant BEO Niranjan Nayak visited the school and conducted an inquiry, following which the headmaster was suspended for negligence. “A show-cause notice has been issued. Further action will be taken based on the investigation,” Sundhi said.