India convicts 10 in school fire that killed 94 students

The 2004 case drew attention to the poor fire regulations in the country and how ill-equipped private schools are.

NEW DELHI // An Indian court convicted 10 people on Wednesday in a 2004 fire that tore through a thatched-roof schoolhouse, killing 94 children.

The owner of the primary school, his wife, the headmistress and the meal planner were among those convicted of culpable homicide and endangerment, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. Sentencing was set for later Wednesday.

The Thanjavur district court in Tamil Nadu state acquitted 11 other defendants.

The case drew attention to the poor fire regulations in the country and numerous ill-equipped private schools that lack basic safety measures such as fire alarms and sprinklers. State investigators said the school had poor exit facilities and no firefighting equipment.

One of the surviving students, Madhumita, blamed “the carelessness of the teachers” for the deaths in Kumbakonam, a temple town about 320 kilometres southwest of Tamil Nadu’s state capital, Chennai.

“If they had considered the children as their own children, they would have saved us,” said Madhumita, whose sister died in the fire. “But they acted selfishly.” None of the teachers died in the fire.

The blaze started in the school’s kitchen, where lunch was being prepared on a log fire. The flames spread swiftly through the three-storey building, trapping hundreds of children. Primary schools in India typically teach students aged between 4 and 10.

Many of the children were burned beyond recognition as the fire brought down the roof of bamboo logs and coconut leaves. Others were suffocated by black smoke or trampled as panicked students tried to tear through the brick and concrete walls.

Almost all the victims were from poor families of labourers, shopkeepers and low-paid government employees.

With India’s court system backlogged, the trial began only in 2012 and included testimony from hundreds of people including survivors and parents of those killed.

According to a 2005 report by a state investigating committee, the school had brought in students from two other schools to show inspectors that classrooms were filled with more than 700 children under its care.

Investigators also said the school’s employees had no training in disaster management.

* Associated Press