JAJPUR: A 17-year-old school student who was undergoing treatment after allegedly consuming poison, succumbed at SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack late on Monday night.
The incident came to light on Tuesday after his father filed a complaint with the Dharmasala police alleging mental harassment by the private school authorities.
A Class 12 student of the Renaissance Higher Secondary School at Jaraka within Dharmasala police limits in Jajpur district, the minor boy was residing at the school hostel.
He allegedly consumed poison in his home on Monday evening and was taken to a government hospital at Madhuban. He was later shifted to SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack where he died.
According to the family of the deceased, they received a call from the school on August 4 morning informing them that the boy had stolen a mobile phone from a roommate in the hostel. The authorities also asked them to come to the school as soon as possible.
The parents reached the school at about 10 am and saw their son kneeling down.“He appeared very stressed and pleaded he was innocent. The school authorities directed us to take him home,” claimed Banka Behari Panda, father of the deceased. On asking for the CCTV footage of their son’s involvement in the theft, the school authorities reportedly denied. Panda took the child home on Sunday.
“At home my son revealed that the school management used to torture him mentally without fault. He said he had not stolen anything from anyone but the school authorities forced him to kneel down before the other students. That shocked him severely,” alleged Panda, adding that his son was upset over the humiliation and that led him to take the extreme step.
Contacted, proprietor of the school BB Rout said the parents of the student were informed about the incident and asked to come to the school. “When the parents reached the school they were asked to take the boy to their home,” he said. He has not seen the complaint nor has the police called him, Rout said.
“Based on the complaint, we have registered a case. Investigation is underway,” said IIC of Dharmasala police station Tapan Kumar Nayak.
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