In a shocking incident, a 13-year-old boy was allegedly poisoned by his classmate's mother in Karaikal, Puducherry, due to his 'rivalry' with the woman's daughter to secure the first rank in their class.
The boy, Bala Manigandan, was admitted to the hospital after he experienced severe vomiting; he died on Saturday, 3 September. The police have taken his classmate's mother into custody for questioning after the boy's parents filed a complaint at the Karaikal police station. Further investigations are underway.
What Happened?
Bala was a Class 8 student at a private English medium school in Karaikal. He was the second child of Rajendran and Malathi; they have another daughter and a son.
The school's annual day was coming up and Bala was a part of one of the performances, for which he was rehearsing at school. During the rehearsal, he received a bag of cold drinks from the school watchman, who said that it was sent by his parents through a relative. The 13-year-old consumed the drink from the bag and went home after the rehearsal was done.
Upon reaching home, Bala asked his mother about who had given the cold drinks to the watchman at school. As he was talking, he began vomiting and his parents rushed him to the Karaikal government hospital. Rajendran and Malathi questioned the school management about what had happened during the rehearsal, and the CCTV footage from the school was examined.
Classmate's Mother Gave Bag of Cold Drinks to Watchman
The footage revealed that his classmate's mother, Sagayarani Victoria, had given a white bag containing the cold drinks to the watchman. She asked the watchman to give the bag to Bala, saying that she was his relative.
Bala's parents then informed the school management that there was some academic rivalry between Sagayarani's daughter and their son.
His parents alleged that Sagayarani poisoned the cold drinks so that her daughter could secure the first rank in the class. The incident has caused tension in parts of Karaikal, as Bala's relatives have been protesting outside the hospital, alleging that the boy died because of a faulty surgery.
((Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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