Class VII student attacked with blades, rod over food

A class VIII student was slashed with blades, beaten with rods and locked in a room for 24 hours by his seniors after a fight over food in a residential school in Junglemahal, the police said on Monday.

Diptankar Mal, a 14-year-old student of Salboni High School in West Midnapore, is undergoing treatment in a hospital. The five accused boys — students of Class IX — were arrested and let off on bail. The incident is a result of the poor food supplied to students in Junglemahal, Diptankar's father said.

Trouble started when Diptankar returned to his hostel room on Thursday evening to find his box of muri (puffed rice) empty. When he asked five of his roommates to give the food back, they attacked Diptankar with blades, beat him with rods and locked him in a room. The hostel staff freed Diptankar on Friday evening.

After being released, Diptankar ran away from the hostel and reached his home in Tilakganj village of Garbeta II late on Friday night. Suvankar Mal, Diptankar's father and a local Trinamool Congress leader, lodged an FIR with Salboni police station on Saturday.

The police picked up the five accused students and released them after a few hours. "The accused students are all minors. They told us they did not have anything to eat, which is why they were forced to eat Diptankar's food. We have lodged a case against them. They were released on bail," said a senior police official of Salboni police station.

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