Police on Tuesday arrested the roadside eatery owner Tengda Ekka who had allegedly beaten up three students of the Model Residential School at laing of Sundargarh district suspecting them of stealing eggs on Sunday.
One of the students, Saurav Bara, who was seriously injured and was admitted to the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), was shifted to the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) run by the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) here for better treatment after his condition deteriorated. Apart from sustaining other injuries, the Class X student has sustained a fracture in one of his hands, sources said.
An Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) official told reporters here that the entire cost of treatment of the student would be borne by the ITDA. A teacher of the school is with the injured student to look after him in the hospital, he said.
It may be noted that the students of the school were on a sightseeing trip to the Mandira dam under the Kansbahal police limits accompanied by their teachers. While returning from the trip, some students went to the eatery to drink water. However, the owner of the eatery suspecting that three boys stole eggs beat them mercilessly with a stick.
One of the teachers who had accompanied the students lodged a complaint with the Kansbahal police after taking the injured students to hospital. The other two students were discharged from the hospital on Monday after being administered first aid.