A 13-year-old student from Tondiarpet, who along with two of his friends, purchased and ingested an intoxicant suspected to be a ‘ bhang ’ capsule was admitted to the Institute of Child Health, Egmore last week, is in a serious condition, doctors said. The other two teenagers are said to be in good health.
Since Friday, police have been raiding shops in Korukkupet and surrounding areas where the teenagers bought the substance. The shopkeeper Suresh Mohite, who reportedly sold the intoxicant, has been arrested.
Sold in Rs. 15 satchets
According to police, on Tuesday afternoon, the students had gone to a small grocery shop near their school and purchased the substance sold in small satchets for Rs. 15 each.
The family of the Class IX student, said the boy thought he and his friends were going out to buy food. “One of his classmates bought something — it was in a small packet, inside which were what looked like three coloured tablets. The boy who bought it, ingested it, the other one bit it in half and spat out the rest, while my nephew swallowed it,” said his aunt.
The teenager fell ill in the afternoon and was sent home from school. “At home he was vomiting continuously and going to the bathroom. In the evening, he had what looked like fits. We took him to a doctor nearby. When we came back home, he was still ill. On the morning of June 29, we were told by another doctor to rush him to the Institute of Child Health,” said his grandmother.
He lives with his grandmother and elder brother.
On ventilator support
Doctors said that his prognosis was guarded at present. “He is on ventilator support at the intensive medical care unit and is in an unresponsive state. This could be due to the toxic effect of the substance. We have sent his blood sample for analysis,” said a senior doctor.
Meanwhile, the parents of one of the three students lodged a police complaint and a team from Washermanpet raided the shops in the locality. “We did not find the substance in any other shops. However, the capsules seized from Suresh Mohite’s house have been sent for forensic analysis,” a senior police officer said.
Police have sent
the substance
seized from the shopkeeper’s house for forensic analysis
