Vellore boy dies after punishment run in school

VELLORE: A boy who was punished along with a group for being talkative in class, collapsed after being ordered to run around the school ground and succumbed in a hospital in Anaicut, 18 kilometres from Vellore, on Thursday evening.

Mohanraj (14) son of Kuppan and Lavanya of Reddiyur near Oosur adjacent to Anaicut was a Class 9 student in the government HSS at Anaicut. Headmaster Ravichandran, who was taking the class, found all 40 students creating a ruckus and talking incessantly and as punishment asked all of them to run twice around the school ground.

After the second round, Mohanraj fainted and was revived by the staff after they splashed his face with water. However, he started complaining of chest pain and was taken to the Anaicut government hospital where he was taken for an ECG by Dr Shalini Ruba. He reportedly suffered from fits while the ECG was being done and was rushed to the ICU where he couldn’t be saved.

Anaicut police have registered a case after the boy’s parents lodged a complaint. However, the parents refused to hand over the body for post-mortem despite the police trying to convince them. Further investigations are on.