4-yr-old Kottayam boy falls ill after eating chocolate in school; urine sample reveals presence of sedative
The teacher washed his hands and mouth and made him sit down, but later, he dozed off.
The teacher washed his hands and mouth and made him sit down, but later, he dozed off.
The teacher washed his hands and mouth and made him sit down, but later, he dozed off.
A woman from Kottayam has sought a police investigation after her four-year-old child had to be hospitalised after he reportedly consumed chocolate laced with a sedative drug from his school. The incident that led to the hospitalisation of the boy happened on February 17. The woman said that his grandfather picked the boy up from school. When he came home, he was drowsy.
When the mother rang up, the teacher told her that she had seen the boy eat chocolate in the classroom. The teacher washed his hands and mouth and made him sit down, but later, he dozed off. Despite the teacher’s attempts to wake him up, he did not respond. Eventually, he was carried out of the classroom. The boy was then taken to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital.
Hospital records show that the boy was admitted with a history of lethargy and increased sleepiness. A stomach wash was done, blood and urine samples were tested, and he was admitted to the ICU. Two days later, the boy was discharged, and he was taken to a private hospital in Kochi, where he was hospitalised for more than a week. The urine sample tested positive for benzodiazepine, a prescription drug that is used to treat anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and muscle spasms. It slows brain activity.
"My son told me that when he got the chocolate packet, it was already open and half-eaten. My son is too young to open a chocolate packet by himself. It is unclear where he got the chocolate from," the boy's mother told Onmanorama.
The boy studies in a private school at Vadavathoor. The school principal said the boy had told his teacher that his mother gave him the chocolate. "Another student from the UKG took the wrapper and licked it as well. The teacher sent both children to wash up. They came back and sat down in class. The boy completed four pages of the ABACUS before asking if he could go to sleep. When the class was over, the teacher woke him up. He ran around the class for a while before going to his section (LKG). He ate snacks his mother had packed for him. He did not show any signs of drowsiness or other symptoms while at school. Later at night, we came to know that the child had been admitted to the hospital due to stomach pain. Six of us went to the hospital. I personally checked in with the mother and the doctors, who informed me that the child was no longer in critical condition but would be under observation due to his elevated blood pressure," the principal said.
The school authorities said that Manarcadu CI and four other police officers came to the school and investigated the matter. They also spoke with the other child who had licked the wrapper. Manarcadu police said they hadn't received a formal complaint from the mother, but the hospital authorities alerted them.
The police said that a probe is on since they received an alert from the hospital. "We contacted the two hospitals where the child was admitted. We learned that another child too ate the same chocolate but showed no ill effects. A junior teacher told us that the child mentioned the mother had given him the chocolate. The mother had packed him Oreo biscuits, chicken, and curd that day. The child's grandfather, an auto driver, usually picks him up from school and buys him something to eat or drink. However, when questioned, the grandfather stated that he did not buy the child anything on that particular day," a police official said. However, the mother denied giving chocolate to her son.