Family members and neighbours of the 13-year-old boy found dead in the hostel of a private school in Malda early on Wednesday have preserved the body in a freezer.

The parents of Srikanta Mondal, the deceased Class VIII student, said they would not cremate their son’s body till police told them the exact cause of his death.

“We first want to know the cause of his death in the post-mortem report. If we see that the report was compromised, we will demand a fresh autopsy,” said Premkumar Mondal, the student’s father.

The body has been kept in a five-foot-long freezer at a club in Kedartola village under the Hiranandapur gram panchayat of Bhutni police station of the district.

Parents, relatives and neighbours have been guarding the body round the clock.

Sources said that around 1am on Wednesday, Srikanta Mandal, the student, was found hanging in his hostel room of the private school in Manikchak block. The school authority informed her guardians and the police. The boy was rushed to the rural hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

The police learned that on Tuesday night, after students went back to their respective rooms, shrill shouts were heard from the hostel.

“When the teachers asked the students who made the sounds, none confessed. Later, Srikanta confessed that it was he who made the noise,” a hostel boy reportedly told the police.

A few hours later, when principal Md Sazir Hossain went to the hostel for a round, he found Srikanta hanging. Srikanta was rushed to the hospital, but the student
had died.

The school has 250 students out of whom 136 students stay at the hostel.

Srikanta’s family alleged that the school meted out corporal punishment often, which authorities denied.

“My son did not commit suicide. I believe either he was killed or was the victim of inhuman torture. We are waiting for the autopsy report,” said Pramila, the
boy’s mother.

“We have already lodged a complaint against the principal. Why haven’t the police arrested him even now?” father Premkumar asked.

The police said the post-mortem report was likely to be available on Monday.

BJP and CPM leaders have visited Kedartola to console Srikanta’s parents and stand by them.