Bhubaneswar, Aug. 18: A 28-year-old youth was found lying in a pool of blood on the campus of an upper primary school at Raghunathnagar in Dumduma on the outskirts of the city this morning. Sources said some hoodlums had attacked him last night.

The Khandagiri police rushed the victim, Daitari Pradhan, to Capital Hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The police have collected blood samples from the spot and seized a stone that is suspected to be have been used in the attack. They have also recovered a pair of shoes.

As the incident occurred on the school campus and blood was found on the verandah of the school building this morning, the authorities decided to keep the school closed for the day. The family members of the victim, a mechanic employed with a crusher unit on the outskirts of the city, said when Daitari did not return home, they began to look for him around 10.30pm.

“We found him lying in a pool of blood in the school that is around 300 metres from our house. He was unconscious. We informed the police and carried him to the hospital. On the way, a police team that was coming to the spot rushed Daitari to hospital in their van,” the victim’s mother said. His condition was still critical when he was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

The victim’s brother Tukuna Pradhan said yesterday morning, his brother had a fight with some youths in their locality and after Tukuna intervened they left. He said he knew Kalia Das, one of the youths with whom his brother had a quarrel in the morning. “I suspect there might be old rivalry between them, but I did not know the cause,” he said.

Though the incident occurred around 10pm in the school that doesn’t even have a boundary wall, locals residents said they had neither seen nor heard anything last night. They complained that the school was being used by hoodlums for unlawful activities. The residents have demanded a boundary wall for the school.

The police said they were investigating the matter. “We are searching for the criminals involved in the attack. We will also intensify patrolling in the area,” a police officer said.