COIMBATORE: In a shocking incident, a 14-year-old student of a private school near Edappadi in Salem district collapsed on Monday evening during a scuffle with a classmate, and died at a private hospital the next day without responding to treatment. Edappadi police have filed a case and initiated an investigation into the matter.
According to police, the deceased and his classmate hail from the same village near Edappadi. On Monday, while returning home in the school van around 4.50 pm, the deceased occupied a seat usually used by the classmate, triggering the scuffle between the duo. As the boys came to blows, the former suddenly collapsed.
The other students in the van alerted the driver who rushed the boy to a nearby private hospital, police said. Doctors there examined and referred him for advanced treatment to another private hospital in Salem city that evening. He was admitted to the ICU there but died early on Tuesday morning.
Police sent the boy’s body for postmortem examination and launched an investigation into the death. Cops questioned other students and the classmate who had allegedly fought with the deceased boy.
Cops deployed on school premises in Salem
The driver, cleaner and attender of the school van, who were present during the incident, are also being questioned.
Police personnel have been deployed on the school premises for protection.
A senior police official told TNIE that the cause of death would be known once the postmortem report is ready.