Drowning of four students in Srirangapatna

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court yesterday refused to quash the chargesheet and criminal proceedings against two teachers of Madrasa-e-Hajra Niswan in connection with the drowning of four students near Srirangapatna in Mandya district on Nov. 1, 2025.

Hearing the petition filed by teachers Nazia Banu and Najima Banu, Justice M.  Nagaprasanna said that teachers cannot escape from their responsibilities when serious negligence is alleged.

“It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure the safety of the students. During the outings, students remain under the care of teachers from the time they are entrusted to them until return home,” the Court said

 While petitioners advocate submitted that the incident was unfortunate, the Court, expressing its concerns over the death of four students, questioned the need for teachers to take children near the canal and asking them to clean the utensils there.  

It said, the allegations required examination during trial and there were no grounds to quash the proceedings at this stage.

It may be recalled, Ummehani, Aisha, Afrin and Tamrin, students of Hajira Rizwan (Arabic School) Madrassa at Udayagiri in Mysuru, had drowned in Ramaswamy canal near Mandya Kopplu in Srirangapatna when they were taken there to clean mats and utensils.

Following a complaint by Ummehani’s father Ismail, Arakere Police registered an FIR and later filed a chargesheet against the two Madrasa teachers under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.