KARAIKAL: A 13-year-old boy died in Karaikal on Saturday after his classmate’s mother allegedly spiked his soft drinks with laxatives as she did not want the boy to outperform her daughter at school.
J Sahayayarani Victoria (42) of Karaikal has been arrested for the murder and remanded in judicial custody on Sunday.
According to Karaikal Senior Superintendent of Police R Lokeshwaran, “The accused said she bought laxative pills from a country drugs store, mixed them in soft drink and gave them to the boy through the school’s watchman. She wanted to stop the boy from participating in school annual day events. We are waiting for autopsy report to find out what exactly was added to the drinks.”
The victim, R Balamanikandan, a Class 8 student of a private school in Karaikal, was the class topper and he was also good in extracurricular activities. On Friday, when the boy was to perform in school annual day events, Sahayayarani Victoria visited the school in the morning, introduced herself as the boy’s mother to the school watchman, and gave him a few bottles of soft drinks to be given to the boy.
CCTV footage help identify woman
After consuming the drink, the boy felt uneasy and returned home by noon as the school had half-day holiday. After the boy started vomiting, his parents, D Rajenthiran and Malathi, rushed him to Karaikal GH and he was admitted to the hospital late on Friday. The doctors said the boy was ill due to food poisoning. The boy told his parents that the school watchman gave him soft drinks saying that they were given by his mother.
The parents inquired with the watchman and he told them about the accused giving him the soft drinks. They then accessed the school’s CCTV footage, identified the woman as Sahayayarani Victoria and then filed a police complaint. Meanwhile, a video of the boy narrating the incident from the hospital bed went viral on social media sparking outrage.
The boy’s health condition, which was initially better, worsened and he died at the hospital around 10.45pm on Saturday. The boy’s family and relatives held protests all through the night on Saturday in front of the hospital alleging negligence in medical treatment offered to the boy. After the protests continued on Sunday morning, Karaikal deputy collector M Adharsh met the family members and assured them of a proper investigation into the incident. Dr S Madhan Babu, Regional Medical Officer, Karaikal GH, told TNIE,
“Our doctors gave him the necessary treatment for poisoning. The boy was conscious and doing better on Saturday. He was under observation and was kept on a liquid diet throughout the day. He vomited at night and then suddenly collapsed. We suspect that he passed away due to asphyxiation due to entry of food particles into his respiratory system. The exact reason can be ascertained only after getting the autopsy report.” Karaikal Town Police are probing the case.