A 16-year-old boy died after he was allegedly drugged by five Nigerian nationals in Sector Pi-II here.
The victim was identified as Manish Khatri, a student of Class XII in a private school.
According to the police, he had gone missing on Friday evening and was found intoxicated near his residence the next day.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he died during treatment.
The student’s family later lodged a complaint against five Nigerian nationals, accusing them of drugging him.
According to the police, the accused are also students and live in a flat adjacent to Manish’s house.
Warning unheeded
On Friday evening, Manish’s parents had seen him talking to the accused, after which they had warned him against meeting them.
“Manish, however, left the house and didn’t return at night. On Saturday morning, he was found in an intoxicated condition near his home. He was rushed to Yatharth Hospital, where he died during treatment,” said Meghraj, Manish’s cousin.
The police said they were waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death.
“We’ve interrogated the Nigerian nationals, but haven’t arrested them as the cause of death is yet to be ascertained,” said Avnish Dixit, the SHO of Kasna police station.
‘Baseless allegations’
On allegations that the boy had been murdered, Mr. Dixit said, “These are baseless allegations. Manish died in the hospital during treatment.”
Meanwhile, the Association of African Students In India has come out in support of the accused.
“The students are innocent. An angry mob broke into their house to find if they had killed the boy and kept him in a refrigerator. However, they found nothing,” said Samuel Jack, the president of the association.
Stating that students were harassed, he sought support from the public in preventing “miscarriage of justice”.
