PATNA: a six-year-old boy in the Gaya district of Bihar was beaten to death for reportedly picking up and eating an apple that was stored for giving to Goddess Durga during puja at his school, an official said.

Despite being reported to the police on Friday, the incident really happened on Tuesday. In this case, the Wazirganj block of Gaya police detained a couple who were in charge of Little Leaders Public School, a residential school in Baki Bigha village.

In a statement to the police, Vivek's grandfather, Ram Balak Prasad, said: "Within its walls, the school has held a Durga Puja celebration. Vivek chose an apple from the fruits (prasad) that were on the table and ate it. After the event, the school's proprietors imprisoned Vivek in a room and viciously beat him. They assaulted him physically and then threw him outdoors." 

"My grandson collapsed in front of the school's entrance. Vivek was found unconscious by an auto driver from my village who then took him home to Ukhra village in the Wazirganj block and gave him to us. We took him right away to a nearby hospital because his condition was critical. The hospital's medical staff directed him to Magadh Medical College based on his condition.   Vivek succumbed on the way to the medical college," Prasad added. Vivek told us about his incident and claimed that Vikas Singh and his wife beat him on the chest,  Prasad said.

The SHO of Wazirganj, Ram Ekbal Yadav, said: "We have taken the accused into custody and filed an FIR. According to the deceased student's relatives, Vivek was a student at Little Leaders Public School and a dormitory resident. The proprietor of the school, Vikas Singh, and his wife are accused of viciously assaulting the victim. The victim died under the mysterious situation. We are investigating the incident." "The actual cause of death will be confirmed only after the postmortem and viscera tests," Yadav said.

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