Delhi: Class 6 student dies in school under suspicious condition, family suspects foul play

NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old student died at a private school in southwest Delhi on Tuesday morning with police suspecting seizure to be the cause of death even as the family claimed the boy was beaten up by his classmate. According to sources, police have collected a CCTV footage from the school, showing some boys fighting with each other after assembly.

Prince, a resident of Kudumpur Pahari in Vasant Vihar, had got admission in Chinmaya Vidyalaya through Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. The student of class six turned 12 years old on November 3, his family members said. Despite repeated attempts the school did not respond to calls and email to comment on the matter.

Information was received from Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj at 10.15 am, stating that Prince had been brought dead, the police said. Upon enquiring and inspection of the body it was revealed that there was no visible injury on the body, but some foam like substance was oosing out from his mouth, the police said in a statement. Doctors verbally suggested that the boy might have had a convulsion-related condition, but inquest proceedings are underway.

School students and teachers are being interrogated and necessary legal action will be taken accordingly, it said. Prince's father, Sagar, who works as a sewer line worker in Vasant Vihar Society, said that his son had no medical history and was completely fit and fine when he dropped him at the school.

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Parents raise questions for school

"My son was completely healthy and had no history of fits. He would even play football and was a good player, participating in inter-school tournaments and winning several medals," Sagar told PTI, adding that "something is fishy in the school's and police's theory."

He claimed that some students told them that Prince had a fight with a classmate during which he collapsed and school teachers then took him to hospital. He was initially taken to Holy Angels Hospital and later referred to Fortis Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Sagar further said that he dropped his son in the school before going for work.

"I got a call at 9.45 am from school that my son got hurt and when I reached the hospital, he was already dead," he said. Prince was the younger among Sagar's two sons. His elder brother Priyanshu is in class eight in another private school. He got admission into the school through EWS quota and he had turned 12-year-old on November 3 only, Sagar said.

Prince's uncle Vineet raised questions on the absence of his class teachers and other staff during the incident. Meanwhile, the family members and parents also staged a protest outside the school demanding a thorough investigation into the matter. They also demanded a registration of FIR into the matter and arrest of the culprit. A senior police officer said that the actual cause of death will only be ascertained after the post mortem report.