An 11-year-old boy from Kundara who was hit by a stray bullet on Deepavali night at Lucknow succumbed to the injury early on Thursday morning.
The body of Noel Thomas will be brought to the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Friday morning and the funeral rites will be held at the Kumbalam Saint Michael’s Church in the evening.
Noel was staying with his parents Thomas Pereira and Nisha and younger sister Niya for the past four years in Lucknow.
His father Thomas Pereira works as an executive with the Reliance Group and his mother, an officer with the State Bank of India.
On October 30, Noel stepped out of his house to watch Deepavali fireworks on the streets at 9.30 p.m. Later, his father found him unconscious and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Doctors found an injury in the neck and said it could have been caused by a stone. Minor treatment was given and the boy sent back home after he gained consciousness.
He was admitted to the King George Medical University Hospital three days later after his condition worsened. There, a bullet was found embedded in his neck and a surgery was performed.
The boy remained unconscious since then and was declared brain-dead on Tuesday. He died at 3.30 a.m. on Thursday.
Relatives of Noel said no case had been registered even after the parents lodged a complaint with the Lucknow Vikas Nagar police. Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma brought it to the attention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On his directive, Director General of Police Loknath Behera spoke to his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh and another police complaint was lodged after his death. The autopsy was conducted at the same hospital.
