Kochi: Reacting to the death of 13-year-old Mithun in Kollam, Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Thursday said that strict action should be taken if negligence was involved.

Speaking to the media at a theatre in Edapally, Gopi said that politics should not be seen in this. "The political arrogance of government officials must end. The DEO is the one who must answer in this matter. Schools and children must be made safe. If they are not capable of doing that, let them resign," he added.

Mithun, a Class 8 student at Thevalakkara Boys' School, died on Thursday morning after being electrocuted while trying to retrieve a slipper that had fallen on top of a bicycle shed near the school building. When the boy climbed onto the shed to retrieve the slipper, he slipped and came into contact with a three-phase power line passing overhead, resulting in an electric shock. Although he was rushed to a nearby hospital, his life could not be saved.