A Class IX student fascinated by freestyle wrestling choked to death in his Salt Lake home on Wednesday night while apparently trying a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) stunt with a rope that turned into a noose around his neck.

With the TV tuned to a channel showing a WWE programme, 15-year-old Agnibesh Datta had tied one end of the rope around his neck to a window grille. The student of Apeejay School, Salt Lake, was found hanging in the gap between the window and a bed when his father walked into the room.

"He was possibly trying a stunt he had seen on TV with the rope around his neck. He obviously hadn't realised that he could suffocate. But when he tried to untie the knot, it apparently became tighter," said an officer at Bidhannagar North police station.

The incident occurred around 7pm in the family's home at the P&T quarters in Salt Lake's CC Block.

Agnibesh's mother was then in the shower and his father had stepped out a little earlier. Amit Kumar Datta, who works in the postal department, returned to find his son hanging by the grille. "His legs were dangling with the rope tied to the grille around his neck. I immediately brought him down," Amit said.

The police said someone living in the P&T quarters dialled the helpline 100. When a police team reached the premises, they found Agnibesh's parents frantically searching for a vehicle and the boy lying in the corridor.

He was first taken to a private hospital, where they refused to admit him, saying he had died.

The teenager was pronounced "brought dead" at Bidhannagar Sub-divisional Hospital.

"He died because of choking and after initial examination it was seen that there were ligature marks caused by the rope around his neck," a doctor at the hospital said.

The police have filed a case of unnatural death. "Preliminarily findings of the post-mortem suggest that the death was caused by accidental strangulation. We are investigating the case and awaiting the final post-mortem report," said Debashis Dhar, additional deputy commissioner of Bidhannagar City Police.

Agnibesh's childhood friends said he had always been a fan of WWE and would usually watch all the shows. "His liking for wrestling programmes was from his childhood days and he would often talk about the stunts. He was a fan of John Cena and The Undertaker," said a friend who has known him since nursery.

The 15-year-old's Facebook profile lists him as a member of a group called JOHN CENA THE LIFE OF WWE. Cena is one of the stars of the popular professional wrestling franchise that is often accused of holding staged bouts.

Neighbours said they had often seen Agnibesh imitating WWE moves and stunts.

The police said quoting family members that a new bed the boy's father had bought a year ago broke because he would jump on it while trying out stunts.

Agnibesh, who had appeared for a school test on Wednesday and was due to write another one on Friday, was also an enthusiastic participant in various extra-curricular activities.

He was a drummer in his school's pipe band and a part of the marching contingent of 43 students for the Republic Day parade.

The group from Apeejay School, Salt Lake, has been adjudged the best in the Republic Day parade in Calcutta for three consecutive years, a schoolteacher said.

"Agnibesh was an average student and a well-behaved boy. We never had any complaints about him. He was a drummer and had performed at various events recently," said Reeta Chatterjee, principal of Apeejay schools.

His teachers remembered him as a jovial boy who kept everyone in his group in high spirits. He was also a member of the student council.

The school said Agnibesh had joined karate classes at school when in Class V but didn't continue for long.

Apeejay School on Thursday morning sent a text message to parents of students at both the Salt Lake and Park Street campuses, requesting them to regulate their TV viewing. "In the light of recent untoward incidents involving children, we request you to exercise greater parental guidance and control over the content being watched by your children on television and other social media to ensure your ward's safety," reads the text.

Psychiatrists agreed that parents should counsel and warn children, especially those who are impulsive and prone to emulation, of the consequences of trying to replicate dangerous stunts.

"A child's past behaviour is the best indicator that he could repeat it in future and parents should seriously counsel such children," said psychiatrist Jai Ranjan Ram. "It has to drilled into the minds of the children and they should be constantly warned that what is being shown on screen is not real and can be far more dangerous and seriously hurt people."

A disclaimer run during programmes and advertisements saying that a stunt has been performed by professionals and should not be tried at home is often not enough.

"To give a disclaimer that a stunt has been done by professionals and should not be imitated is not enough to deter a child. It isn't as simplistic. If such stunts must be broadcast, it should be done at an hour when the children don't get to see it," said psychiatrist Abir Mukherjee. "For some children, imitation triggers a sense of euphoria and it's so hardwired in their brain that they cannot help doing so. Such children might require professional help."

Psychiatrists advise that parents should limit access to channels where such stunts are telecast. "If they limit access and the child doesn't get exposed to such sensory stimuli, then they tend to lose interest. It might lead to some other addiction but not to such imitations, which are far more dangerous," Mukherjee said.

WHAT PARENTS SHOULD DO TO KEEP CHILDREN FROM HARM

• Counsel their children 
• Warn children of the possible consequences of emulating a dangerous stunt seen on TV
• Constantly tell children that what is being shown on screen is not real and can have far dangerous consequences that are not shown on TV
• Limit access to channels or programmes that broadcast dangerous stunts 
• Seek profes-sional help if a child shows a propensity to imitate stunts despite repeated warnings

How do you control your child's TV viewing? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com