Chennai: A 16-year-old plus-1 student died at a hospital following head injuries he suffered after a fight with another student in a classroom at a government school in Kancheepuram district. The victim was identified as B. Janakiraman, studying at Boys’ Government Higher Secondary School. The police said he was attacked by his friend and classmate at around 11.50 am Wednesday between commerce and English class periods.

The attacker allegedly repeatedly punched on the right side of the forehead of the victim. Janakiaman, bleeding from nose, collapsed in the classroom and was immediately rushed to the nearby hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital in Porur. He was later moved to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital at Chennai where he died without responding to treatment.

The teen accused, son of a flower vendor, later told the police he attacked Janakiraman because the victim had badmouthed his mother. “I was very angry and hit him very hard when he spoke badly about my mother,” the police quoted him as saying. He had been detained by the cops and lodged at the juvenile home at Kelly’s in Chennai. The school declared a holiday Thursday.

Describing the incident as a sad one, chief educational officer of Kancheepuram district P. Usha told this newspaper that all schools in the district from now will have at least two sessions of counselling for students and teachers every week so that such incident are not repeated.