A class 10 student died after a scuffle with his classmate at a high school in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Wednesday, a senior police officer said.

Abhinav Jalan (15) of Champdani Arya Vidyapith was declared dead by doctors of ESI Hospital where he was rushed, the officer added.

Eyewitnesses claimed Jalan was punched on the chest by his classmate during the scuffle following which he fainted and slumped to the ground.

Former councillor of the local civic board, Bikram Gupta, said, "On hearing the commotion, we, along with school authorities, took the child to the hospital. But he could not be revived despite constant CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) efforts and was declared dead." The boy's father, Ganesh Jalan, demanded action against the school authorities for their "failure to prevent the brawl among students which took away the life of his child." Jalan expressed surprise that "none of the teachers present at school intervened and averted the ugly situation." He also demanded punishment of the student allegedly responsible for the death of his son by the juvenile board.

A crowd assembled before the school after the news of the death spread, but police and political party activists managed to defuse the situation.

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