A 16-year-old boy died after being punched by a 17-year-old friend during an altercation over sharing space in a room where at least 10 young men were staying.

The incident happened in a room on the top floor of a building on Chanditala Main Road in Behala on Friday night where 10 youths from Murshidabad were staying for the past few weeks. They worked as masons.

On Friday night, the victim and the accused (names are not disclosed as both are minors) — who are relatives — got engaged in a fight over sharing space in the room. The other eight youths were not in the room when the incident happened, police said.

Both the accused and the victim are school students but had come to Calcutta and picked up the job of masons to support their families in the pandemic, specially when the schools were closed.

The accused allegedly punched the victim on his chest several times, an officer said. “The victim’s screams alerted others, who rushed into the room only to see the 16-year-old lying unconscious in the room,” said an officer in the south west division.

By this time, the accused had fled. The victim was taken to Vidyasagar State General Hospital where he was declared dead.

After being reported to the police, officers of Behala police station found the accused hiding in another location where another group of youths from Murshidabad were camping. The accused was detained and charged under section of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The matter was referred to the child welfare committee. He was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board from where he was sent to a home.