Hundreds pay homage to child electrocuted in Kerala school

Hundreds of villagers have gathered to bid farewell to a young boy tragically electrocuted while playing at school in the southern state of Kerala earlier this week.

M Midhun, a 13-year-old class VIII student, was electrocuted at Thevakkara Boys High School in the Kollam district on Thursday, leading to widespread protests.

The family was waiting for her mother, a domestic help in Kuwait who was accompanying her employers to Turkey, to return. The cremation took place on the premises of his home in Thevakkara village on Saturday evening.

On Saturday, Cochin airport witnessed emotional scenes as Suja collapsed into the arms of her younger son, Sujin, a sixth grader, and a relative who came to receive her. 

Relatives and social workers led by local legislator Anwar Sadat assisted her into a car that hurried away to her rented home.

Suja had left for Kuwait just four months prior, taking on the role of domestic help for an Arab family to alleviate her family’s crippling debts. 

She was informed of her son’s tragic accident while abroad, and her employer generously arranged for her swift return to attend his funeral.

Midhun's tragic fate unravelled around 9.15am when he attempted to retrieve a slipper that had fallen onto the roof of the school’s bicycle shed. 

In the process, he came into contact with a dangerously low-hanging live electric line and fell from the roof. Despite immediate medical attention, he could not be saved.

Midhun's father, Manu, a daily wage labourer, stood despondently near his coffin, grappling with profound loss.

"All that I know is that I lost my son,” Manu said, adding he had made an unfulfilled promise to his son to buy him new footwear on that day.

The family lived near Sasthamcotta Lake, where they were well-liked by their neighbours and fostered a strong sense of community. 

Classmates remembered him as a diligent student and a good friend. He was excited to have made it onto the school football team. 

The incident has sparked intense protests, with opposition parties leading marches to demand accountability from school authorities. 

The school, which is managed by the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), stated that it had applied to relocate a hazardous power line away from the school premises.

Officials from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) defended the placement of the electric line, asserting that it was situated at an appropriate height from the ground.

They suggested that the construction of the shed for cycle storage may have inadvertently contributed to the accident.

Last year, the local community drew the attention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during his mass outreach programme to the poor state of the school building.

The Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and registered a case. 
The family had applied for a proper home under the state’s LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion Financial Empowerment) Mission list but failed.

In response to the tragedy, General Education Minister V Sivankutty expressed his condolences and called for a prompt report from the Director of Public Instructions. 

He announced immediate actions, including the suspension of the headmistress and issued a show-cause notice to the management of the government-funded school.

He recalled that a government circular issued in May mandated all schools to identify and report potential electrical hazards before the start of the academic year. 

Power Minister K Krishnankutty also instructed the deputy chief engineer and the chief electrical inspector to initiate an immediate investigation into the incident.