A hotel owner allegedly beat three Class X students on Sunday morning in his hotel at laing area, suspecting that the boys had stolen an egg from his hotel.
The three injured boys, one among them critical, were taken immediately to the Rourkela Government Hospital. While the seriously injured was kept in the hospital, the rest two were discharged after preliminary treatment. After getting a FIR from the concerned school teacher on Sunday night, police registered a case and swung into action to nab the accused, who is currently absconding.
Sources said about three hundred students of the Ekalavya Residential Model School had gone for morning walk on Sunday morning along with their teachers.
While they were returning, three Class X students had stopped to take breakfast in a hotel at Mandira Dam Chowk under Kansbahal police outpost. After taking the breakfast, when out of the three boys, one boy was making payment at the counter, hotel owner Tengda Ekka (45) saw one egg was missing from an egg tray.
He located it in the hand of a boy. Suspecting that the three boys had stolen the egg, Ekka went berserk and started beating the trio with a stick black and blue. He kept on hitting them with the stick not caring the least whether it was the head or any sensitive part.Informed, the teachers rushed to the hotel and rescued the trio. The critically injured student was identified as Saurav Bara (16), a resident of Kutra area.