Four students suffered severe burn injuries at a school in Odisha's Rayagada district on Monday while allegedly experimenting with paint thinner on the premises.
The incident occurred at Paika Dakulaguda High School in the Muniguda block of Rayagada. According to police, a Class 8 student named Binod, the son of the school's peon, called the four younger students to the school roof around 2.30 pm.
"Binod wanted to show them how thinner catches fire. First, he poured some thinner and set it alight. Then, they all poured more and continued setting it on fire. The flames spread rapidly, resulting in the injuries," said Swathy S Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Rayagada.
The injured students have been identified as Rohit and Biraj (Class 7) and Sudam and Nalina (Class 5). All four sustained severe burns and were rushed for emergency medical care. SP Swathy said that Biraj's injuries are the most critical. Hospital sources confirmed that all four remain in serious condition under intensive medical supervision.
However, the mother of one of the victims has refuted the "experiment" claim, alleging that Binod intentionally threw thinner on the four students and set them ablaze. "The incident reportedly occurred after the students urinated at a place within the school premises. My son is critically injured," she said.
After school authorities informed the police, officials reached the scene and launched an investigation to determine the exact sequence of events.
(With inputs from Dev Kumar)
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