Rajat Menon's friends said that he collapsed after the fight and then the alleged attackers took him to the hospital
Highlights
- Class 9 student had physical fight with paan-seller, also a teen
- Alleged attacker took injured schoolboy to hospital
- Hospital said it didn't have ventilator, refused to admit him
After a school boy was seriously injured in a fight in Delhi, a private hospital refused to treat him last evening, claiming that it was not equipped with a life-support system.
Rajat Menon, 15, was then declared dead at a state-run hospital, where his post-mortem was conducted today.
Security cameras at the hospital which turned him away have recorded the student being brought on a scooter. Another teen - Rajat's alleged attacker - can be seen lifting his body to take it inside.
But after the hospital said it could not admit it, Rajat was taken on the same two-wheeler to another hospital, where he was declared dead.
Rajat's family and friends say that last evening he got into a fight with a roadside vendor who sells
paan in his neighbourhood in East Delhi. The suspect - who is also a minor - has been taken into custody. This evening, protesters set fire to his shop, reported news agency ANI.
The police registered a case of murder this evening, triggering accusations of inaction by Rajat's family. "We had given a complaint to the police yesterday, but nothing has happened despite giving specific details," said Laxmi Kant, a family friend.
The police, however, says it needs the post-mortem results to determine what charges to include in its case.
"My brother did nothing wrong. He had found him at the park, and was taking him to the hospital to help him ," said the brother of the suspect.
Rajat's parents say they were informed of the attack on their son by his friends two hours after it took place -by which time he had died.