Rourkela: A Class VII boy was suffocated to death inside the locked classroom of a school under Bisra police limits in tribal-dominated Sundargarh district, in a fire incident Tuesday. The deceased was Anmol Ekka, a student of Badaparbahal Government UP School.
He was the son of Kartik Ekka of Badaparbahal village under Bisra police limits.
The 15-year-old boy was mentally ill. Locals and relatives said he got trapped inside the classroom while studying and died of suffocation after the classroom caught fire. Seeing the flames, locals rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the wailing boy, but in vain. By the time the police reached the spot, the boy died and the classroom was charred.
The school authorities had allegedly left the school after locking it from outside. The boy entered the classroom through a broken window and was apparently studying when the fire started.
“I was informed that the school has caught fire. I rushed to the spot along with villagers and tried to rescue Anmol. I alerted the Bisra police and the fire tender team. The fire was raging through the asbestos roof. The boy died out of suffocation due to excessive smoke.” the boy’s maternal uncle Jayataran Xalxo said.
“Our scientific team started an investigation. Prima facie, there was no foul play. An unnatural death case has been registered,” the Bisra IIC said.
PNN