A 14-year-old boy died after attending a yoga science camp of Guru Ramdev that began in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, said a man claiming to be his brother.
Superintendent of Police Amitav Thakur said it was not known whether the boy, Manoj Das, had participated in the camp. Thakur said Manoj was taken to the Capital Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Manoj, who was suffering from a rheumatic heart ailment, had come to the six-day camp to get cured of the disease, his brother Sarbeswar Das claimed. After participating in the inaugural session, he felt unwell and died soon after, Sarbeswar said.
"We don't know whether he participated in the camp or not," Thakur said. Purushottam Patra, chairman of the out-patient department at the yoga camp, said Manoj had come to the OPD and a doctor had examined him. "As his condition was stated to be serious, we shifted him to Capital Hospital," Patra said. Patra said he was not sure whether Manoj had participated in the yoga exercises.
Manoj, who belonged to Gobindapur village in Jagatsinghpur district, had come to the camp with his brother. Capital Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Sugat Kar said Manoj had been "received dead" at the hospital.
The yoga science camp, which attracted thousands of men and women, began early Wednesday morning. Sarbeswar said he had brought Manoj to the camp and left him at gate no two at about 4.45 am. When Sarbeswar came to fetch him at about 7 am, he did not find the boy. He contacted one of his relatives on his mobile and informed him that Manoj was missing. The relative happened to be at Capital Hospital at the time, and informed Sarbeswar about a boy being brought there.
"When I rushed to the hospital, I found him to be Manoj," Sarbeswar said. CMO Kar said a person intending to participate in such yogic exercises should undergo certain tests to ascertain his capability to perform them. The person must undergo blood sugar, cardiological and treadmill tests before going for such exercises, Kar said.