The "deliberate" inaction of Ryan International School authorities that amounts to "gross criminal negligence" led to the death of six-year-old Divyansh Kakrora, the Delhi government has found in its magisterial inquiry into the case.
The development comes a day after the arrest of the principal and four other staff of the school located in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, and six days after the class I student was found dead in a water tank inside the campus that has triggered widespread outrage.
Vasant Vihar SDM Sonal Swaroop has highlighted a number of "glaring lapses" and "serious misconduct" issues in handling of the incident by the school authorities in the inquiry report.
The report, that has been submitted to the government, slammed the school authorities for allegedly carrying out a "deliberate campaign of misinformation" to malign the child's image by "insinuating" him to be a special kid.
"This casts all the more aspersion as to why the school emphasises on the child being hyperactive. Hidden motives on part of school management to camouflage the real reason cannot be ruled out," the report said.
"School authorities also failed to perform their duty when body of this kid was spotted. Swimming coach refused to rescue the kid from water tank. All other staff also failed to respond and remained mute spectators. Prajwal Sehrawat, XI class student risked his life and entered the water tank," it said.
Letting the senior student to go inside the pump house or the water tank was a "very serious lapse" as even his life was at risk, the report observed. The school should have been extra vigilant that day as kids were called despite it being a holiday, it said.
"Most importantly the time that elapsed due to deliberate inaction by the school staff in rescuing Divyansh amounts to gross criminal negligence. Had the time essentially wasted in discussion, calling for a particular person and denial, been utilized in rescuing the drowned child it would have been pivotal in saving his life.
"The school completely failed in its responsibility to take proper care of the students...Class teacher failed to notice absence of the student for hours. She could not even figure out when the child went missing," the report said.
The student was found dead last Saturday, in the reservoir under the ampitheatre of the school. The initial postmortem report of Divyansh suggested he died of drowning and no external injuries were found, police had said.
