Bamra, Jan 7: Normal life came to a standstill Sunday following a 12-hour bandh at Gadposh area under Bamra police limits in Sambalpur district following the death of a 16-year-old Oriya boy due to alleged assault and ragging by his classmates at a private institute in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Traffic came to a halt and business establishments remained shut for the day as the relatives of the boy blocked the NH and staged a demonstration. Demanding justice for the boy, the agitators also blocked the railway for two hours, reports said.
The victim was identified as Sriyash alias Om, son of Sailesh Kesharwani of Gadposh area under this block in Sambalpur district.
According to family members, after completing schooling Om got admission at Vishakhapatnam-based Sri Chaitanya Institute. After his admission, two of his classmates called him on the pretext of some talk and took him to a bathroom where they were joined by another half a dozen of his classmates, who allegedly ragged him and beat him up.
Terrified by the incident, Om called his father and narrated his ordeal after which his father reached Vishakhapatnam and admitted Om to a hospital. He was then brought back and again admitted to Rourkela IGH from where he was shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar after his condition worsened. However, the boy succumbed during treatment Saturday.
The incident outraged Om’s family members and relatives after his body reached the village Sunday. The agitators placed the body on Gadposh railway station and staged a demonstration.
The agitation was called off after additional tehsildar Mitrabhanu Naik along with Kuchinda SDPO Amitabh Panda, Gobindpur IIC Prasant Kumar Samal, Rourkela IIC Ganesh Pandey and other officials reached the spot and assured of action after a probe. (PNN)