Rayagada : The Odisha government Tuesday halted the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff of a state-run high school in Rayagada district, a day after four students sustained severe burn injuries in a fire incident on the premises of the institute.
Following the incident, the School and Mass Education Minister, Nityananda Gond, directed the department secretary to submit a detailed report and ordered a departmental inquiry to ascertain negligence, if any.
As per reports, the students suffered burn injuries while playing around a fire during school hours.
“The department has stopped the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff members in connection with the incident,” he said.
Also Read: 20 students go missing from hostel; rescued
While three of the injured students are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Rayagada, one critically injured student has been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
The school headmaster had lodged a complaint at Muniguda police station Monday.
Police have recorded statements of the injured students, officials said.
According to preliminary findings, the incident occurred when a classmate of the injured students allegedly threw colour thinner, an inflammable substance, onto a fire that had been lit by the students on the school building’s balcony.