Kolkata: A Class 8 student of a private English-medium school in Kodalia under Sonarpur Police Station collapsed in his classroom while appearing for an examination on Wednesday morning, and was later declared dead at a hospital. The deceased was identified as 14-year-old Prithwiraj Haldar, a resident of Subhasgram.According to school authorities, Prithwiraj arrived at The Summit School around 8.30 am for his second language examination, which was scheduled to begin at 9 am. At approximately 8.40 am, while seated in the classroom, he suddenly lost consciousness and slumped on his bench. The teachers present tried to revive him but were unsuccessful.He was immediately taken to Sonarpur Rural Hospital by the school authorities in an auto-rickshaw, where doctors declared him brought dead.The incident triggered allegations of negligence against the school by the boy’s father, Rajkumar Haldar. He claimed that the school does not have a sick room and that timely medical assistance was not provided. “My son had no known health issue. He left home in good health as usual. I do not know what happened after he reached school,” the student’s father said.Prithwiraj’s twin brother, who studies in the same school, was appearing for his examination in a different hall at the time of the incident.The police sent the student’s body for postmortem examination. Sonarpur Police Station officer in charge Asis Das visited the school after receiving information about the incident. He sought details from the school authorities regarding the absence of a sick room, medical personnel, and ambulance facilities on the premises.Though no formal complaint was lodged with the police against the school until Wednesday evening, an unnatural death case was registered and an investigation was initiated. Investigators said there was no CCTV camera inside the classroom, making it difficult to ascertain the exact sequence of events. However, no foul play has been suspected so far.Preliminary suspicion points to a possible cardiac arrest, but police said the exact cause of death would only be confirmed after the postmortem report is received. While the student’s family said he did not suffer from any disease, doctors said the boy may have had an undetected ailment that might have been congenital.School authorities told cops that they will set up a sick room and arrange for basic medical attention for students. Calls made to the school went unanswered.“It often happens that congenital ailments remain undetected until they flare up. It could be a cardiac issue or something to do with the lungs or some other vital organ. Unfortunately, they often do not have symptoms until a certain age. Physical or mental stress may trigger such ailments. Such undetected conditions often turn out to be fatal,” said internal medicine consultant Arindam Biswas.
