A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of a 13-year-old boy who allegedly beat her daughter at their school in India.
Bala Manikandan died on Saturday (September 3) after drinking a soft drink while preparing to perform at his school's annual cultural event on Friday in the southern Indian coastal town of Karaikal, Puducherry.
When he returned home that night, the student, who was said to be at the top of his class in studies and extracurricular activities, started bleeding from the nose and was taken to hospital, where he later died.
Madhan Babu, the regional medical officer of the government hospital, explained:
"Our doctors gave him the necessary treatment for poisoning. The boy was conscious and doing better on Saturday. He was under observation and kept on a liquid diet all day. The 13-year-old vomited at night and then passed out suddenly."
Police have now arrested Sahayarani Victoria, accusing her of posing as Manikandan's mother and going to the school, where she reportedly asked the school guard to hand over the soft drink bottles to the 13-year-old.
CCTV footage showed Viktoria asking the porter to take the bottles.
Victoria was arrested on suspicion of murder and police say she later confessed to mixing 'laxative pills' in the drink after buying them without a prescription from a local pharmacy.
R. Lokeshwaran, senior superintendent of police, told the New Indian Express that the mother "wanted to stop the boy from participating" in annual events at the school, where Victoria's daughter is also a student.
The chief inspector said police are still awaiting autopsy reports to determine "what exactly was added to the drinks she gave the boy".
After Manikandan's death, the student's family and relatives accused the authorities of not treating him properly and staged a protest outside the hospital. Authorities said his condition suddenly worsened on Saturday and doctors said they believe the 13-year-old student died of asphyxiation after particles of food entered his respiratory system.
Source: Unilad
