A 13-year-old has died after bullies allegedly tormented him with cheese despite knowing he was allergic to dairy.
Karanbir Cheema was transported to a London hospital after becoming ill at school, but died 10 days later, shattering his family and friends.
The case has been passed onto homicide officers and a 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder before being released on bail pending further inquiries, a Met spokesperson said.
Karanbir’s father, Amarjeet, told The Evening Standard of his heartbreak.
“We were in hospital I had to watch him die, no parent should have to go through that. While he was in hospital we were fully concentrated on his condition. Now we want answers. How could this have happened?” he asked.
“My son had allergies but he was very careful. He had an allergy to dairy products but was good at avoiding them. I don’t how a piece of cheese hitting him could have killed him, it doesn’t make any sense. We have been told very little.”
Karanbir allegedly went to the school office where allergy medicine is kept, but when staff were unable to help they called an ambulance. Unfortunately, he was already in a life-threatening condition when paramedics arrived.
Paying tribute to his son, Amarjeet said: “He was brilliant at computers and maths, he was an amazing student. He was always on the computer. He talked about being a computer engineer.”
Alice Hudson, executive teacher at Karanbir’s school in west London, said he was treated as soon as he realised he was having an extreme reaction.
“He had a full care plan and all the normal steps you would expect with a child with an allergy were in place. We provided these medications and they were delivered,” she told The Evening Standard.
“Everything that should have been done was done. Very, very tragically in this situation this was not effective.”
She added: “Karanbir Cheema, known as Karan, was a popular Year 8 student at the school.
“He had many friends who are devastated at his death, as are the staff.
“He was a bright and keen student who excelled in maths.”
