A profoundly sad event unfolded in the Khunti district of Jharkhand on Monday, leading to the death of a young school student. The student, enrolled in the third grade at the Rajyakrit Kanya Madhya Vidyalaya, had eaten the school’s midday meal. After the meal, the student felt thirsty. Due to the non-functional water pump at the school, the child, along with friends, went to a dilapidated well outside of the school premises. Sadly, the child lost his footing and fell into the well, resulting in his death. The deceased has been identified as Suraj Manjhi, an 8-year-old.
The incident occurred at the Rajyakrit Kanya Madhya Vidyalaya in Hassa village, within the Murhu police station jurisdiction. After consuming the midday meal, the student went to the well to get water, slipped, and fell into it. When school staff learned of the incident, they hurried to the well, rescued the child, and transported him to Murhu CHC. However, the child was pronounced dead by doctors upon arrival, creating a scene of distress.
It has been reported that the school’s water pump has been broken for several days, causing a disruption in the water supply. The cook had been procuring water from the well for preparing the midday meals and for drinking. Despite this, older students would sometimes go to the well to drink water after the meal.
On Monday, after having the midday meal, the third-grade student, Suraj Manjhi, went to the well with other children to drink water, during which he slipped and fell into the well, causing his death. Given the seriousness of the situation, the District Education Superintendent has ordered an investigation and instructed that severe action be taken against those responsible.
Previously, a similar incident occurred in June 2025 in Rani Tola of the Murhu police station area in Khunti district, where two minors tragically died after falling into a well while playing near a construction site. Despite the efforts of an NDRF team deployed by the district administration for rescue, the children could not be saved.