In a distressing incident, 28 students from a Municipal School in Delhi’s Naraina area fell sick
after being exposed to a gas leak. According to the officials, the incident took place on Friday
after a suspected gas leak in the surrounding of the school. This incident has sparked
widespread concern among the residents of the capital after which an FIR ( First Information
Report) was registered to investigate the cause of the leak.
According to Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, the 2 girls who were put on oxygen support at Delhi’s
Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital are stable and doing fine. According to MCD, 19 students
were admitted to RML hospital near Connaught Place while 9 others were admitted to Acharya
Bhikshuk Hospital in New Delhi’s Moti Nagar. All 9 students admitted to Acharya Bhikshuk
Hospital have been discharged while 14 students have been discharged from RML hospital,
keeping 5 under observation. Children who fell sick said that they experienced stomach aches
and breathing issues.
Durgesh Pathak, Aam Aadmi Party’s MCD in-charge who also met the girls at the hospital, said
in a statement that it is being suspected that the gas leaked from a train passing through the
nearby railway tracks. However, the railway authorities have stated that their wagons never
transport toxic gases that may pose a threat to life and have not received any report of gas leak
from any of their stations. According to Pathak, doctors have also ruled out any possibility of
food poisoning.
According to the police, a call was received from Inderpuri’s Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya about
students falling sick and vomiting. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra
Veer, the children had just eaten and a foul smell had filled the classrooms after which students
started falling sick. A case has been registered under IPC Section 284 of negligent conduct with
respect to poisonous substance and Section 336 of causing hurt by act endangering life or
personal safety of others against the unidentified culprits.
Tughlakabad Gas Leak Incident 2017
A chemical leak from Tughlakabad’s container depot affected over 450 girls on May 6, 2017.
The students of Rani Jhansi School and Government Girls Senior Secondary School inhaled
poisonous fumes after which they complained of irritation in eyes , breathlessness and stomach
ache on the morning of Saturday, 6 May. According to the reports, the chemical was imported
from China and had to be transported to Haryana’s Sonipat. In May 2018, The National Green
Tribunal (NGT) charged the Railway authorities with a fine of ₹2 Lakhs for not reporting
information about gas leak from Tughlakabad container depot.
