A 16-year-old student consumed poison in Odisha’s Sambalpur district after being allegedly slapped by a retired lecturer from whom he had borrowed Rs 10,000 but was unable to repay, police said on Tuesday.

The boy, a student of the BRG Plus-II College in Bhojpur, also runs a paan shop in the area, they said.

He borrowed Rs 10,000 from the retired lecturer of Jamankira College, which, he was supposed to pay back with interest, they added.

As he was unable to repay the loan, the lecturer on Monday went to BRG College, where the boy studies, and slapped him in a classroom full of students, police said.

Humiliated in front of his classmates, the boy bought pesticide and consumed it, they said. The boy is at present undergoing treatment at the Kuchinda sub-divisional hospital and his condition is stated to be critical, police said.

The matter is being probed and a case will be registered, said Sobhakara Seth, the inspector-in-charge of the Kuchinda police station.

Meanwhile, Odisha registered 228 new Covid cases on Tuesday, taking the tally to 10.49 lakh, a health department bulletin said.