Student Allegedly Serves Poisoned Water To His Classmates; 20 Boys Fall Ill

A student has been expelled from school after he allegedly served pesticide-laced water to his classmates. School authorities said the boy hoped the institution would call-off in-person classes after the students fell ill.

The shocking incident happened in the Indian state of Odisha last week, reported The Hindu.

According to the authorities of Kamgaon Higher Secondary School, the student recently joined the school in the arts stream. He was from a nearby village and had been staying at the school's boarding facility after the institution restarted offline classes following the end of the COVID-19 shutdown.

The boy was reportedly not eager to be in the school and hoped that classes would be called off. He also received a piece of fake news on social media about the "impending lockdown" due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

"When it was clarified that the news was fake, he became depressed," Premananda Patel, school principal, told The Hindu.

The boy reportedly told his friends that he would make the school shut anyway. He allegedly mixed the pesticide in a water bottle and served it to his friends Wednesday evening. Some of the pupils drank from the bottle and soon began complaining of nausea and vomiting.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital. Though the students were declared out of danger, they were asked to remain under observation. A primary inquiry revealed that all the students who fell sick had drunk the water offered by the boy.

The boy was summoned and questioned, after which he admitted to having mixed pesticide in drinking water. The authorities immediately expelled him from the school.

His parents have been asked to come to the school on Saturday. "The management was of the view that his parents should be counseled to take care of the minor and consult a doctor since he may be having mental problems," the principal was quoted by The Times Of India.

A similar case was reported a few years ago in India wherein a student allegedly poisoned her classmate by mixing mosquito repellent in her water bottle. She attempted to murder her classmate after being envious of her for getting higher grades in exams. The accused girl later allegedly tried to commit suicide, fearing police inquiry into the incident.