Ahmedabad: An eight-year-old Class 3 student of Zebar School for Children in Thaltej died of a suspected cardiac arrest on Friday morning.
The incident occurred at around 8am, soon after the girl, Gargi Ranpara, arrived for the day’s classes. Gargi, on way to her classroom, fell unconscious after sitting on a chair in the school’s lobby.
After calling an ambulance and performing CPR, staff members decided to rush Gargi to a nearby private hospital where doctors informed them that she had suffered a cardiac arrest. Police have launched a probe to determine the exact cause of her death.
School sources said that Gargi was her parent’s only child. With her mother away in Mumbai since Monday, the girl was staying with her grandparents, police said earlier in the day, adding that the distraught mother was on her way back to the city after hearing the shocking news.
In the footage from a CCTV cam shared by the school’s management, an evidently disoriented Gargi, carrying her schoolbag, is seen walking slowly through the lobby towards her class and then sitting on a chair. The footage then shows her slumping and losing consciousness and teachers nearby rushing to her aid.
“The girl, Gargi Ranpara, fell unconscious soon after she sat on a chair in the lobby while going towards her classroom in the morning,” principal of the school, Sharmishtha Sinha, said.
“Gargi was normal when she arrived at the school in the morning. When she was going towards her classroom on the first floor, she sat on a chair in the corridor but suddenly fell unconscious. Since she was experiencing difficulty in breathing, our teachers gave her CPR and called an ambulance. But considering the serious condition of the girl’s health, staff decided to rush her to a nearby private hospital in their own vehicle. Doctors there told us that Gargi suffered a cardiac arrest. They tried to revive her and also kept her on ventilator support, but she could not survive,” Sinha added.
Hospital authorities informed the police after Gargi’s death. “We received a call from the hospital that a school student had died after being admitted. We have launched an investigation from our side and sent her body for postmortem examination to determine the exact cause of her death,” joint commissioner of police, Sector-1, Neeraj Badgujar, said.
The school’s statement issued after the death read, “It is with profound sadness that we share the untimely demise of Gargi Tushar Ranpara, an eight-year-old student of 3rd grade at Zebar School for Children. The entire school community is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gargi’s family during this incredibly difficult time. The school is extending all necessary support to her family and classmates to cope with this tragic event. We request everyone to respect the family’s privacy as they mourn their irreparable loss.”
Bodakdev police inspector Apurva Patel said a case of accidental death has been lodged and an investigation is ongoing to determine the exact reason behind her death. Patel said, “The girl was living with her grandparents in the city after her mother left for Mumbai on Monday.”