[ Nellie N Manpoong ]
ITANAGAR, 14 Mar: The Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (VKV) in Sher in Papum Pare district is set to install a statue of late Ngurang Paro in the school premises as a homage to the young boy and as a symbolic representation against acts of bullying.
This was decided after two days of discussions held among the family of late Paro, the VKV Alumni Association (VKVAA) and the VKV Arunachal Pradesh Trust (VKVAPT) on 13 and 14 March, a year after the death of Paro.
VKVAA secretary-general Giamde Tamin informed that the school will also commemorate the death anniversary of Paro on 13 March every year with literary events and as a stoic reminder of the repercussions of bullying.
“This is traumatic for us. VKV Sher is one of the first few VKVs in the state and we have had counselling sessions for the students before the incident, but we had never expected this to happen,” said Tamin.
On the demand for installation of CCTV cameras, Tamin said that “the association is very soon going to install CCTVs.”
Speaking to this daily, Paro’s sister, Ngurang Anam said that the family was happy that the school authorities decided to follow up on their assurance of installing a statue and commemorating her brother’s death anniversary.
She also said that the school should seriously consider installing CCTV cameras in the campus and hold periodic counselling sessions for the students, so that such incidents can be avoided in the future.
A Class 6 student of the Sher VKV, Paro was found hanging near the bathroom of the school’s hostel on the evening of 13 March, 2020, and breathed his last as his friends lowered him.
As per reports, a group of students, including the deceased, had got into a fight during the games and sports period, following which the boy allegedly went missing. About 15 to 30 minutes later, two students came running to the teachers and the principal and informed them that they had found the student hanging by the neck near the hostel’s bathroom.
In September 2019, an alleged case of sodomy and torture of junior boys by the senior boys were also reported from the school, which led to the transfer of a senior student, subsequent vandalism of school property by a group of senior boys and their en masse suspension.
Recollecting the 2019 incident, Tamin informed that since the incident, “VKV Sher has closed admissions for day scholars and Classes 8 to 10.”
