BHUBANESWAR: An 11-year-old boy, who stepped out of his school to relieve himself, was found dead in a water pit metres away from the campus, in Nayagarh district on Wednesday morning.
Bholanath Mallick, a Class-V student of Belpada primary school within Gania police limits of the district, went missing since Tuesday afternoon after having the mid-day meal.
Police investigation revealed that the minor boy was last seen at 1.30 pm when he left the school’s premises to answer the nature’s call. The school has two functional toilets, but he did not use them.
As Bholanath did not return after the school hours, his father Bijay Mallick lodged a complaint at Gania police station. A case of kidnapping was registered. The locals and his family continued an overnight search but to no avail.
On Wednesday morning, residents spotted a slipper floating in a pit near the school and alerted the police. Bholanath’s body was fished out and sent to a hospital for postmortem. The deceased was a native of Belpada Patna village.
As investigation began, block education officer (BEO) Lipsa Nanda visited the spot and the school on the day to investigate the matter. She said the school’s in-charge headmistress Manisha Senapati and assistant teacher Sailabala Dei were suspended for negligence in duty.
“Students are not allowed to leave the school’s premises between 10 am and 4 pm. However, the boy was given permission to go outside the campus to relieve himself despite the school having two usable toilets in good condition,” said Nanda.
An officer of Gania police station said the boy had suffered injuries near his ears and exact reason behind his death will be ascertained after receiving the postmortem report.
Bholanath’s family suspected foul play and staged a blockade along with the locals at Kantilo-Daspalla road. Police pacified the protesters and assured them of a thorough investigation into the incident.
“The boy’s body was found inside a 10 ft deep water pit near an under-construction house. It is yet to be ascertained whether he accidentally fell or there was foul play. We are probing it,” said the officer.