Two schoolmates held over teen's death in Tamil Nadu's Erode

Erode (Tamil Nadu): Two juveniles from the same school were arrested in Erode on Thursday evening in connection with the alleged murder of a 16-year-old boy, police said. The victim, Aadithya, a Class 12 student at Government Higher Secondary School, Kumalankuttai, left home for school on Wednesday morning in uniform but reportedly skipped classes, police added.

Also read Sudanese student stabbed to death, friend injured by assailants in Punjab

Later that evening, dressed in plain clothes, he returned to the school to meet his girlfriend, also a student there. The two were seen talking near the school after hours. Police said a group of three to four boys from the same school confronted Aadithya, warning him not to speak to the girl, as one of them was allegedly had feelings for her.

Two of the boys "assaulted" Aadithya, causing him to collapse, and they fled the spot. At around 6 pm, passersby found Aadithya lying unconscious and rushed him to the Government Headquarters Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Following the incident, the boy's father and other family members rushed to the hospital. The Erode North Police registered a case of suspicious death and launched an investigation. Further action will be taken based on the autopsy report, they added.