Two students of a government-aided ashram school near Jawhar in Palghar district died after the motorcycle carrying five students crashed while they were returning from a Navratri event, according to a Times of India report. The incident has prompted an inquiry by the Integrated Tribal Development Project and disciplinary action against senior school staff.
The crash took place between 2.30 am and 3 am on Monday near a river ghat close to Kagodi village, around 8-10 km from Gagangiri Ashram School in Hirdpada. The motorcycle reportedly skidded at a bend on a downhill stretch. The students were enrolled in Classes 9 to 12 at the school.
The report said the students had allegedly left their hostel without permission on Sunday night to attend Navratri celebrations. With the assistance of a non-residential student, they allegedly obtained the motorcycle from a local resident after claiming that another student was seriously ill. The report did not state whether the students had permission to leave the campus or whether the motorcycle owner had verified the claim before handing over the vehicle.
Sumit Gimbal, 18, died at the site of the crash, while Pritam Potinda, 15, died during treatment at Patangshah Cottage Hospital in Jawhar. The report said the injured students were subsequently moved to the district hospital in Nashik, where doctors described their condition as stable.
However, the supplied report contains an unresolved discrepancy about the number of injured students. Its opening account says that three students were injured, while a later passage refers to five injured students being shifted for treatment. The final number of survivors receiving medical care, and whether all five students on the motorcycle were injured, could not be established from the supplied material.
The incident has brought the functioning of residential tribal schools into focus, particularly the systems used to monitor student movement after hostel hours. The report does not provide details of the school’s night-duty arrangements, the number of hostel staff present when the students left, or whether the campus had registers, access controls or other procedures for recording student movement.
Following the crash, P K Siddharth Ramkumar, project officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Project in Jawhar, visited the school and conducted an inquiry. The school management suspended the secondary school headmaster, the superintendent or warden, and the watchman.
The tribal development department also issued show-cause notices to the school management trust and other persons concerned. The supplied report does not state the findings of the inquiry, the sections of law being considered, or whether any action has been initiated against the person who provided the motorcycle.
The official inquiry is expected to establish how the students left the hostel, how they accessed the motorcycle, and whether school staff followed the required supervision and emergency procedures. Confirmation of the injury count and the subsequent medical status of the survivors remains necessary before the casualty details can be treated as final.
