A Class IV student of St Thomas School in Dhurwa, Ranchi, dropped dead within 15 minutes of reaching the campus on Tuesday with no clear answer to why.

While school officials seemed clueless on what might have happened to Ananya Kumari, who had turned nine this January, relatives said she had enlarged lymph nodes and a weak heart but they were not sure if those caused her untimely death.

Numb with shock, her parents refused to speak to the media.

According to sources at St Thomas, Ananya reached school around 7.15am, kept her bag in the classroom on the second floor and went downstairs. A teacher found her lying motionless near the toilet on the ground floor around 7.30am.

"Around 4,000 students and 150 teachers were present on the campus at that time. Ananya was rushed to our nursing room from where she was taken to HEC Plant Hospital. But doctors there declared her brought dead," a staff at the school said.

Principal Monu Mathew was not available for comments when The Telegraph visited the campus around 1pm. Accountant Manoj Kumar said classes for Wednesday had been suspended to condole the student's death. "The girl we heard had a history of stomach, heart and other ailments," Kumar added.

Dr Shadab Jafar, who examined the girl at HEC hospital, too could not be reached.

On duty at 2pm, when The Telegraph visited the hospital, Dr A.K. Jha checked hospital records and said that when the little girl was brought to them "she had no pulse and was not breathing".

Daughter of flourmill owner Ajay Agrawal, Ananya lived at Birsa Chowk, 4km from school, with her father, mother Tripti Agrawal and younger brother Anshuman, a Class II student of Sarla Birla School.

At least a hundred people had gathered near the house to offer moral support to the bereaved family, but few agreed to speak to the media. "We have returned after her last rites. We are shocked. Please leave us alone now," said a relative.

While father Ajay was inconsolable, no one was allowed to meet mother Tripti who underwent a uterus surgery only eight days ago.

Sunil Agrawal, who identified himself as Ananya's maternal uncle, mustered some courage to speak.

"The child was under treatment for enlarged lymph nodes. Dr Rajesh Kumar of Rani Children's Hospital was treating her for the ailment. Doctors had charted a special diet for her. Her heart was also weak and she could not run like other children. However, she had been okay for the past year. When we met her doctor 20 days ago, he did not notice anything alarming either. We are in deep shock," he said.