ALIGARH: A vigilant Class 8 student of a school here averted a major tragedy by alerting his principal that rat poison had allegedly been mixed in the container of the madrassa's water cooler by two unidentified men, the police said today.
The boy, a student of Chacha Nehru Madrassa, noticed two men tinkering with the water cooler on Saturday and emptying some white powder from a packet with a 'rat poison' label into the container of the machine, they said, quoting an FIR filed by Rashid Ali, the public relations officer of the school.
Sensing mischief, the 13-year-old rushed to the principal's office to inform him about the incident, the police said.
They said the two men, who had spotted the boy noticing their act, had threatened to shoot him by pulling out a pistol if he opened his mouth before escaping.
A police team, which went to the madrassa, found the remnants of the packet left behind which, the police said, contained 'rat poison'.
The institution is managed by Al-Noor Educational Society, whose chairperson is Salma Ansari, the wife of former vice president Hamid Ansari.
The school is located at Badar Bagh, adjoining Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus.
When contacted, Salma Ansari said, "I am shocked over the cowardly attempt to harm innocent children."
She said a major tragedy was averted thanks to the courage of the boy who spotted the two men.
Investigating officer Javed Khan said forensic tests were being carried out to ascertain the chemical composition of the white powder.
City Superintendent of Police Atul Srivastava said that the matter was being investigated.