Special kid dies in pool accident in Goregaon

Shradul Arolkar

An accident occurred at Gokuldham High School, where a 14-year-old boy, who was a special child, allegedly drowned in the school's swimming pool. The incident took place around 1.30 pm on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Shradul Arolkar, a resident of Yogi Nagar in Borivli. Shradul's father, Sanjay Arolkar, 50, is a government employee working at the Dindoshi Session court. Shradul was the only son of the Arolkar family and was studying at Yashodham School, which is the Yashodham Counselling Centre branch of Gokuldham High School.

During the probe, it came to light that there were a total of five special students, including Shradul, who were practising in the swimming pool at the time of the incident. Along with the main swimming coach, Sagar Shanbagh, three swimming guards named Kiran Avle, Shanklesh More, and Praful Koli were present. Shradul had been honing his swimming skills in the same pool for the past six months and was considered an expert swimmer. The authorities are carefully reviewing the CCTV footage to gain further insights.

"The investigation is underway, and we will register an ADR and conduct the inquiry," said Senior Inspector Jeeva Kharat of Dindoshi police station. Arolkar told mid-day, "My son used to study in the ninth grade at Yashodham School (Yashodham Counselling Centre) and attended the Gokuldham High School branch for swimming lessons."

He further emphasised, "Shradul was undoubtedly a special child, but he was medically fit, and we had provided the school with his health fitness certificate. The school failed to exercise due care. Despite his special needs, they neglected to provide adequate attention. This is a clear case of negligence, and appropriate action must be taken." mid-day got in touch with the trustee and his advocate but they refused to comment.