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Chennai A 13-year-old boy died in Puducherry’s Karaikal on Saturday allegedly due to poisoning, with the police suspecting that his classmate’s mother spiked his soft drink because he outperformed her daughter.
A 13-year-old boy died in Puducherry’s Karaikal on Saturday allegedly due to poisoning, with the police suspecting that his classmate’s mother spiked his soft drink because he outperformed her daughter.
The boy returned home on Friday at around 12.30pm after a rehearsal for his school’s annual day function, and started vomiting, alarming his parents, officials said on Sunday.
According to a police complaint filed by his mother at Karaikal police station on the same day, the boy told his mother that he fell sick after consuming a soft drink at school.
“After he returned home in the afternoon, he started vomiting. He said he had been sick since the time the school watchman gave him a cold drink,” news agency ANI quoted his father as saying.
A 13-year-old boy died in Puducherry’s Karaikal on Saturday allegedly due to poisoning, with the police suspecting that his classmate’s mother spiked his soft drink because he outperformed her daughter.
The boy returned home on Friday at around 12.30pm after a rehearsal for his school’s annual day function, and started vomiting, alarming his parents, officials said on Sunday.
According to a police complaint filed by his mother at Karaikal police station on the same day, the boy told his mother that he fell sick after consuming a soft drink at school.
“After he returned home in the afternoon, he started vomiting. He said he had been sick since the time the school watchman gave him a cold drink,” news agency ANI quoted his father as saying.
After returning home, the boy asked his mother if she had sent the soft drink, the complaint said. The boy’s mother assumed some other relative had given the drink to the school watchman.
The Class 8 student was rushed to the Karaikal government hospital, where he received treatment and was sent back. His condition, however, worsened and he was hospitalised late on Friday night.
The boy’s family, meanwhile, returned to the school to find out who gave the drink to the security guard.
According to officials, the mother of the boy’s classmate could be seen handing the drink to the security guard in the school CCTV footage.
A video of the 13-year-old speaking from the hospital bed has since been widely shared on social media, where he is heard saying that his classmate argued with him after he scored more than her.
“Her mother gave a soft drink to my school watchman saying that it was from my mother,” he said in the undated video. “I drank and began feeling uncomfortable so I went home. Then I started vomiting,” the boy said. HT could not establish the authenticity of the video.
The boy’s family has alleged that he was poisoned because his classmate’s mother was jealous of his academic performance.
“From LKG to now, he has stood first in class. This has happened out of jealousy,” a family member of the deceased said.
The boy’s family protested outside the hospital on Friday night, alleging negligence on the part of the hospital.
“We were running between the hospital and the police station. He was alright till 8pm last night and when police suddenly showed up, we knew something went wrong,” the person cited above said.
While police initially filed a case under Section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code, charges under Section 302 (murder) were added after the boy died on Saturday.
The 42-year-old accused was arrested on Saturday, Karaikal senior superintendent of police R Lokeshwaran said.
“It’s a clear cut murder case,” the SSP said. “The accused’s version is that she mixed laxative pills from someone who makes country medicines to cause diarrhoea but the post mortem exam report has found traces of poison which needs to be confirmed further,” he said, adding that the accused has been remanded to judicial custody.
Puducherry transport minister Chandra Priyanka met the boy’s parents on Sunday, and promised action. “They have lost a life and they shared all their complaints with me which we will thoroughly investigate,” Priyanka said. “If the hospital has made a mistake, as they say, we will definitely take action.”
~ Via Hindustan Times |
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