The day was 11th January, 2024. A 12-year-old Kintan Saraswat returned home, covered in bruises, from the government-run Sarvodya Bal Vidyalaya School in North Delhi.
He was assaulted by a group of seniors after he accidentally hit one of them. Kintan was lifted in the air and thrown on the ground. The boys continued to thrash him. The 12-year-old was limping and in extreme pain after school ended on that fateful day.
His father Rahul Saraswat, who works as a daily wage worker at a private company, told The Quint, “My son told me that during recess, he went to use the washroom. When he was returning to the classroom, he accidentally hit a senior boy.”
12-year-old Kintan Saraswat, a class 6 student at a Delhi government school, died on 20 January, a week after he was allegedly beaten by senior boys in his school. While the #DelhiPolice is yet to register an FIR, @sriram_varsha spoke to his parents. pic.twitter.com/YEt3MxgztR
— The Quint (@TheQuint) January 29, 2024
“He told me that the senior called other kids and beat him up. He told me that they lifted him forcefully, threw him on the ground down and continued beating him,” Rahul stated.
Concerned over Kintan’s health condition, the family rushed him to the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital in Ashok Vihar. After initial treatment, Kintan was referred to the orthopaedic department.
Rahul informed, “The staff told us that the orthopaedics specialists were unavailable and on leave and asked us to come back after three days.”
Health of Kintan Saraswat deteriorated after assault
On 12th January, Rahul Saraswat went to the Sarvodya Bal Vidyalaya School during which two classmates of Kintan told him that the latter was indeed assaulted by some senior boys.
While the victim was initially relieved by the medications, he started experiencing pain again after a few days. On 15th January 2024, the family took Kintan to another orthopaedic clinic in Rohini instead of the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital.
“Since then, he began eating less and started to feel worse. On 20 January, his condition deteriorated further,” Rahul Saraswat stated. The victim was then taken to the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital for treatment.
The doctors administered drips to him, which initially eased his condition. According to Soni (Kitan’s mother), he feels hungry for the first time in 9 days. So, arrangements were made to feed him Khichdi.
Kintan unfortunately passed away before the food could reach him. While speaking about the matter to The Quint, Rahul Saraswat said, “I didn’t lose a child; I lost my soul with him…what did my child do to deserve this? Why did God do this to us?”
Kintan is now survived by his father, mother and 13-year-old sister Tannu. He wanted to become an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer. The police are awaiting the autopsy report to file a First Information Report (FIR) in connection to Kintan’s untimely death.
Rahul Saraswat blames negligence of hospital and school
The parents of Kintan Saraswat have squarely blamed the incident on the negligence of the school and the hospital authorities.
“The school does not even have proper CCTV camera. Isn’t it their responsibility to identify the students who hurt my son? We send our kids to school only so that they get educated, get a good job and prosper in life. We do it to ensure that they do not become daily-wage workers like us. Is this what we get in return?”, remarked Rahul Saraswat.
He said that despite visiting the school on 4 different occasions, no action has been taken against the accused senior boys. Rahul added that the school administration has sent him away each time under one pretext or the other.
He and his wife Soni have also accused the staff of Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital of medical negligence, which has been denied by the administration.
While speaking about the matter, the superintendent of the hospital Dr Vatsala Aggarwal said, “The patient had first come on January 11 and upon seeing his condition, which was not severe at the time, he was attended to at the OPD. His X-ray was taken and a painkiller was given to him.”
“He was asked to come back a few days later but he did not do so and came directly on January 20. He reached the hospital at a very critical stage with a high fever, vomiting and a high BP. Physicians, paediatricians and orthopaedic doctors saw him but the child could not be revived,” he concluded.
