A day after the death of a Class 6 student from Vasai sparked outrage, a detailed inquiry has been initiated by the school education department.

Even as a committee is being formed to probe the incident, the local education officer visited the school on Sunday and met the parents of the deceased girl.

The student, Anshika Gaud, was allegedly made to do 100 sit-ups as punishment for arriving late. She later developed health complications and died on Friday (November 14).

Her parents have blamed the school and the teacher involved, claiming her condition deteriorated after the punishment.

With tensions rising, the school remained closed on Sunday. Sonali Matekar, the Palghar district education officer, said the administration has been instructed to keep the school open on Monday and remain present on campus for the ongoing inquiry.

Police have registered an accidental death report and are awaiting the postmortem findings, which the school education department has also termed crucial for the case.

Matekar confirmed that a preliminary inquiry conducted on Saturday found that several students had been made to do sit-ups for being late on November 8.

“There are clear laws against corporal punishment, and strict action will be taken for implementing such harsh punishment,” she said.

On Saturday, parents and members of the local community staged a protest outside the school. The Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) met Anshika’s family on Sunday, declaring they would not allow regular school operations to resume until strict action is taken.

“Irrespective of the postmortem outcome, it is clear the teacher made the children do 100 sit-ups, and the school administration allowed it despite corporal punishment being prohibited,” said Amit Narkar of the MNVS Vasai unit, reiterating their demand for strong action.