A mother of a Class VIII student allegedly poisoned to death her daughter's classmate, Bala Manikandan, 13, unable to bear with his better all-round performance, in a school at Karaikal in Puducherry.
The accused, identified as Sahayarani Victoria, was arrested on murder charges and remanded in judicial custody on Sunday.
The police said the woman was jealous of the boy's excellence in education and his active participation in cultural events. Sahayarani was reported to have hoodwinked the watchman of the school at Nehru Nagar on Friday into believing that she was delivering soft drinks to the boy at the bidding of his relatives, while the students were practising on the campus for the annual day function.
After consuming the spiked cool drinks, the boy had developed nausea at home. His parents checked with the school authorities and learnt from the watchman that the boy had already developed discomfort while at school after consuming the cool drinks.
Thereafter, CCTV footage was analysed and the identity of Sahayarani was established.
Subsequently, the boy's parents filed a police complaint and admitted him to the Karaikal Government Hospital. However, he did not respond to treatment and died late on Saturday night. The police then arrested the accused woman.
On Saturday night and Sunday morning, relatives and well-wishers of the boy staged a demonstration in front of the hospital alleging lapses in treatment.
The contention of the relatives was that the boy was not shifted from the general ward to the Intensive Care Unit for a lengthy period. They were also upset at the alleged delay on the part of the police to take action.
Karaikal Sub-Collector Adarsh persuaded the protesters to withdraw their agitation by promising them swift action.
Police personnel were posted at the hospital to prevent any further commotion.
