Chennai: A class 8 student died a day before his 15th birthday after being bit by a snake near his residence in Kilpauk. The boy was initially suspected to have died of consuming narcotics, police sources said.
On Monday morning, he had played with his friends and had returned home. He fell unconscious after which he was moved to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.
Later in the day, the boy died after which his parents approached the TP Chatram police with a complaint.
His mother, Chitra told police that her boy was consuming bhang (an intoxicant) with friends and this led to his death. She told police that she enquired a few of her friends and they confirmed the same.
Chitra works as a domestic help while her husband, Raj Kumar, is an auto driver.
The deceased boy is the second of their three children. However, it was established that the boy had died of snakebite and not due to overdose of intoxicants. “It is true that a group of minor boys gather in the neighbourhood and consume intoxicants.
The deceased boy’s mother is also aware of that and on that day she had chided him assuming he was unconscious after consuming bhang,” a police officer said.
However, preliminary post-mortem reports established that the boy had died of snakebite. There were bite marks near his thumb.
