A 12-year-old class six student reportedly collapsed and died at a private residential school in north Bengaluru on July 8. The boy’s family has alleged lack of transparency from school authorities, and that harsh punishment by the school led to the boy’s death.
The deceased, Guru Kiran, is the son of Raghavendra, a resident of Subedar Palya in Yelahanka taluk. He was a student of Sterling English Residential School in Kadayarappanahalli, Bengaluru North taluk.
According to the family, school authorities informed them on July 8 morning that the boy had fallen ill, and had been shifted to a hospital. By the time the parents reached the hospital, the boy had died.
Mallikarjuna, the deceased boy’s uncle, told mediapersons that the boy was beaten by a teacher and made to jog three rounds on the ground. “In the third round, he collapsed and died,” he alleged. “They are saying, it was a cardiac arrest. If he had any underlying health condition, there should have been some prior symptoms. He was healthy. We believe the school staff are hiding something.”
A schoolmate of the deceased boy reportedly told the family members that Guru Kiran was slapped on the neck by a physical education teacher after the teacher woke up students at 5 a.m. According to the student, Guru Kiran was then made to run two rounds of the ground before collapsing. The family claimed that the schoolmate further alleged that students at the school were routinely beaten with sticks for minor reasons.
Mr. Mallikarjuna alleged that the school failed to produce the CCTV camera footage of the incident claiming all cameras were ‘out of order’, which, he said, is unacceptable. He alleged the school management was trying to hush up the case, and demanded a thorough investigation.
Attempts to reach Sterling English Residential School for a response by The Hindu did not yield any results.
Anjanappa, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, Bengaluru North taluk, said the department had conducted an inspection of the school, and got an FIR registered. “There were 115 students in the hostel. All of them have been sent back home to their families. We will conduct a detailed inspection on July 9, and submit a report,” he said.
Teacher questioned
Tension prevailed in the school premises and outside Bagalur Police Station as family members gathered, and protested. The situation became tense outside the police station when officers brought the physical education teacher in for questioning. Agitated relatives of the deceased attempted to confront the teacher, prompting police to intervene and disperse the crowd to prevent any untoward incident.
Autopsy report awaited
The police said they are questioning members of the school staff, and are awaiting the post-mortem report before deciding on further legal action. The exact cause of death will be established based on medical opinion, and the outcome of the investigation.
Mithun Kumar G. K., DCP, North East Division, Bengaluru, said that they had asked the family members, who have been holding the school management and a teacher responsible for the death of the boy, to give their statement in writing. He assured a thorough investigation and action as per law.
Published – July 09, 2026 11:02 am IST
