The unexplained death of a 10-year-old student at a prominent private school in Noida has sparked a painful quest for answers, with the child’s mother making an emotional public appeal for a full investigation into the tragedy that occurred earlier this month.
Tanishka Sharma, a Class 6 student at Presidium School in Sector 31, collapsed on the school campus on September 4. She was rushed to Kailash Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. While the school initially stated she had choked on food, the official post-mortem report has listed the cause of death as “uncertain,” leaving the family grappling with grief and suspicion.
In a video posted on Facebook, Tanishka’s mother, Tripta Sharma, made a direct appeal for clarity. “What happened to my daughter in her final moments? As a mother, I deserve to know... I am asking the truth. Let me grieve with answers, not silence,” she said.
The family’s anguish is compounded by what they describe as contradictory versions of events from the school. Speaking to TOI, Tripta Sharma, an IT professional who raised Tanishka alone after the death of her husband in 2019, said her daughter was healthy and excited about Teachers' Day celebrations the day she died. “She was my world, my only ray of hope to survive. She could even swim in deep waters,” she told the publication.
The discrepancies began almost immediately. The family alleges they were first told Tanishka fainted while having lunch, but later informed she collapsed while walking down the stairs. “These conflicting accounts raise doubts and suggest an attempt to cover up negligence,” Vaibhav Sharma, the girl’s uncle, had earlier stated.
A critical piece of evidence — closed-circuit television footage — has become a point of contention. Tripta Sharma told TOI that the school has refused to share any CCTV footage with her. Authorities have since revealed a significant lapse — the spot where the girl collapsed was not under surveillance.
“While inspecting the school, we found that there was a lapse in 360-degree surveillance coverage. The spot where the girl collapsed, on the side of a corridor near the staircase, was not covered by any CCTV camera,” confirmed Rajesh Kumar Singh, district inspector of schools (DIOS), Noida, as cited by TOI. He added that police have taken the school's CCTV DVR system for examination.
The family has also questioned the school’s emergency response, alleging that precious time was lost by first taking Tanishka to the campus medical room instead of immediately transporting her to the hospital, which is approximately 2km away.
A spokesperson for Presidium School maintained that the institution is cooperating with the investigation. “Police are investigating the matter and we are cooperating with police and the family. All CCTV footage has been submitted to cops,” the spokesperson said on Monday. In a previous statement to TOI, the school had said, “During lunch, some food particles got stuck in her food pipe and the school took her immediately to the hospital.”
Noida police confirmed that an FIR has not yet been registered as the DIOS is first looking into the case. The post-mortem, conducted by a district medical panel, found no external injuries on Tanishka’s body. Viscera samples have been preserved for forensic analysis, which officials say will be crucial in determining the cause of death.
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