VILLUPURAM: A Class 11 student of a private school in Villupuram died after collapsing in his classroom on Wednesday morning. The cause of death has been identified as cardiac arrest.
The deceased, K Mohanraj (16), son of Kumar and Maheswari of Melaveedhi, was a student of Class 11 at a private matriculation higher secondary school on TVK Street, Villupuram. Mohanraj's father had passed away earlier, and Maheswari works as a Village Administrative Assistant.
Mohanraj left home in the morning to attend a special class. Shortly after sitting down in his classroom, he collapsed. Classmates tried to wake him and informed the class teacher, who also attempted to revive him, the police said.
Mohanraj's mother and relatives were informed. He was taken to a private hospital on Nehru Road, where the doctors noted low oxygen levels and advised shifting him to another facility due to lack of infrastructure. He was then moved to a private hospital on Trichy Road, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Villupuram Town Police recovered the body and sent it to the Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
His mother Maheswari said, “He didn’t have any health issues and I have never taken him to the hospital. We suspect that climbing four floors with his bag might have caused the problem. When we reached the school, staff were rubbing his palms and the bottom of his legs. He was an intelligent student who scored high marks in the Class 10 examination. We don’t know what happened to him.”
School correspondent M Rajasekaran said, “He has been studying here since kindergarten and was very good in studies. We ask students to come early for class tests. His mother was immediately informed as she lives nearby and we took him to the nearby hospital. Unfortunately, we lost him. We don’t know if it was a health issue. There were no special classes until evening. The school timing is from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, and he was always punctual.”
Special classes for Classes 10, 11, and 12 were being held in the morning. Following the incident, the school declared a holiday on Wednesday. A team led by Villupuram ASP Ravindra Kumar Gupta visited the school and conducted an inquiry. Police personnel were deployed at the school premises.
Medical sources said Mohanraj died due to cardiac arrest, adding that no prior symptoms were noticed and that such cases are generally seen in persons above 18 years of age.
Dr Deepika Lakshminaryanan, Assistant Professor of General Surgery at Sri Venkateswaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Ariyur, Puducherry, said, “After examining the CCTV footage and analysing his reaction, we suspect the patient had dyspnoea, which could have been due to an underlying cardiac condition-hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). This is a condition in which the heart muscle thickens, particularly in the wall between the heart’s lower chambers, causing a blockage to blood flow out of the heart. This thickening restricts the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively, making it work harder.”
She added, “For people with this condition, death can occur at any time, even during normal activity, as the heart will not be able to pump blood.”