Hyderabad school kids'death: Three cop teams fan out to track on the run school managers

HYDERABAD: Investigations into Thursday's school tragedy picked up pace with three special police teams fanning out across the state to nab owner of

New Century Public School

, Venkateshwara Rao, and other officials on the run.

On Thursday night, police arrested the coordinator of the school, Venkatesh, who provided leads and possible addresses where the owner could be cooling their heels.

"We will track him down soon. We suspect, he may have gone to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, his native city," said a police official.

Police said, Venkateshwara Rao who lives in Banjara Hills left his house soon after the tragedy and his phones are switched off. "He cannot hide for long. We have formed special teams to trace and nab him. K Ganesh, father of Devi Sree, one of the injured student, lodged a complaint with police. The management of the school has been booked for negligence under Section 304(A) and 337 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). We are still investigating into case," said N Bhujanga Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP),

Kukatpally

.

Police also tried contacting the school principal, Haritha R, who did not respond to calls. However, cops said action would be taken against her, if there is no cooperation from her side. "The school owner took land on lease from a local resident, Damodar. However, we found he did not pay rent for a couple of months," said A Venkateshwar Rao, DCP Madhapur.

"We have spoken to the collector and school has been sealed. Students will be shifted to nearby schools so that they don't lose a year. However, the final call will be taken by parents. After this tragedy, mandal education officer has been suspended, while the district education officer has been given a memo," added the DCP.