Odisha Horror: 8-Year-Old Girl Trapped in Classroom, Stuck in Window Grill for 18 Hours

In a heart-wrenching and shocking incident, an eight year old girl, Jyotsna Dehuri, spent almost 18 hours trapped in her classroom with her head stuck in the iron grill of a window in the Government Upper Primary School at Anjar under Banspal block.

On Thursday afternoon, a Class 2 student fell asleep on a bench after school. Not knowing she was there, the cook, who normally checks classrooms and locks them, was absent because of heavy rain. Two senior students who were tasked with locking up the school did not notice Jyotsna was sleeping peacefully. They closed the classrooms around 4 pm leaving her in the classroom alone.

When Jyotsna woke up, she panicked to find herself locked up. Having run out of options, she attempted to slip through the bars of her classroom window to escape. Remarkably, as her body emerged to be partly out, her head got stuck between the bars forcing her to spend the night helpless and stuck.

Her family, daily-wage earners, returned home by 9 pm and didn’t find her at home, searched the village whole night. But Jyotsana wasn’t found. By morning, the search led them back to the school, where they discovered the little girl still trapped, calling for help from the window.

All the villagers teamed up together to bend the grill, and set her free. Jyotsna was rushed to the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital where she was advised to be okay after a timely medical attention. She had gone through her ordeal alone, but is safe, and recovering.

The incident caused shock waves across the state, evoking outrage. Local residents denounced the primitive verifications prior to locking classrooms and demanded responsibility. The Keonjhar district administration acted promptly:

• School headmaster Gourahari Mahanta was suspended due to negligence.
• The matter is under further investigation by the authorities, including the Block Education Officer.
• The School and Mass Education Department reported that Jyotsna was not in danger and tighter regulations regarding school closure would be implemented.

A viral video of Jyotsna trapped inside the grill created even additional attention, and authorities began to provide assurance that such situations would not occur again.

This accident has shown the acute necessity of school safety improvement. Schools are required to ensure that no child is left behind on closure and should ensure that they have adequate daily checklists which is especially hard in rural areas where it will be left to the students or the non-teaching staff.

What gives Jyotsna and her family strength is that despite spending long hours in fear and agony, she has still managed to survive. Her story is a lesson and reminder to the educational authorities and communities to consider child safety, vigilance and compassion, each and every day.