Bhubaneswar: A 13-year-old Class 8 student died after suddenly collapsing on the premises of a govt school in Dhenkanal district on Wednesday afternoon, police said on Thursday. The boy had reportedly consumed the mid-day meal and was heading to wash his hands when he fell unconscious.The deceased, Mangaraj Sathua Mohapatra of Bhuban NAC’s Ward No. 12, was a student of Government Boys High School, Bhuban.According to the police, the incident took place around 2 pm. After having the mid-day meal, Mangaraj drank water and was walking towards the wash area when he suddenly collapsed. School authorities rushed him to Bhuban community health centre where he was declared dead.His family members reached the hospital after being informed and Bhuban police also arrived at the CHC, conducted a preliminary inquiry and then seized the body for postmortem.Mangaraj’s uncle, Sankarshana Sathua Mohapatra, lodged a complaint at Bhuban police station. During the inquiry, family members informed police that the boy had a history of epilepsy.The postmortem was conducted on Thursday, following which the body was handed over to the family.“We have registered an unnatural death case and launched an investigation,” said P P Jena, sub-inspector of Bhuban police station.“Preliminary inquiry suggests that the boy was suffering from epilepsy. Doctors suspect he may have died due to asphyxia, but the exact cause of death will be known only after the postmortem report is received,” Jena added.
