Boy’s death in UK not intentional: Probe

London, May 10

An Indian-origin schoolboy with a rare form of dairy allergy, who died in the UK when his classmate flung a piece of cheese at him, was not killed intentionally, an inquest into the death concluded here on Friday.

Karanbir Singh Cheema was 13-year-old when he died after having a severe reaction to the cheese coming in contact with his skin at his school in west London in June 2017.

Senior Coroner Mary Hassall said the classmate who threw the cheese taken from a friend’s sandwich was “simply not thinking”.

“It was a childish and thoughtless act but was not calculated to cause serious harm. His fatal reaction to an allergen that was not ingested but was only ever in contact with his skin was extraordinarily rare,” Hassall said at St Pancras Coroner’s Court in London.

“Karanbir’s school did not have an effective system for educating its pupils in the dangers of allergies,” she noted. The asthmatic Karan was discovered “gasping for air” by paramedics at his school in Greenford on the fateful day.

He had allergies to wheat, gluten, egg, milk and tree nuts and his condition quickly worsened when he came in contact with cheese. — PTI