10 students hospitalised after pepper spray released accidentally at school in Ballabhgarh

Ten students of a private school in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, were rushed to a private hospital on Monday morning after a Class 8 student released pepper spray in

Ten students of a private school in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, were rushed to a private hospital on Monday morning after a Class 8 student released pepper spray in the classroom, the police said.

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According to the police, during the preliminary investigation, they found that a Class 8 student, while walking to the school, found a pepper spray in a lane and picked it up, assuming it to be a canister of deodorant.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, Faridabad, said that the student, in his statement, said he sprayed the canister of pepper spray in the classroom immediately after they returned from the morning school prayer assembly. “He said he thought it was a canister of deodorant and wanted to spray it for fragrance, not knowing that it could cause harm to his fellow students. Nine girls and one boy fell unconscious within minutes, following which the class teacher reported the incident to the school management and rushed the children to a private hospital,” he said.

The police said other students of the class reported ‘watery eyes’ and dizziness and were moved outside into the fresh air and their parents notified.

The students were discharged after being treated for several hours, the police said.

“The parents of the injured students refused to lodge a formal complaint as the incident was unintentional, but have raised concerns over the negligent approach of the school, who did not check the bag of the student who was carrying the canister,” Rao said.

The student has apologised before the parents and teachers and was warned not to repeat any such incident in the future, the police said.

The police said no case has been registered against the student.

The victims were discharged from the hospital after undergoing treatment on Monday afternoon.