Siliguri, July 24: A 10-year-old boy, who was allegedly turned away from a government hospital short on anti-rabies vaccine, died of suspected hydrophobia this evening.

Hydrophobia or the fear of water (read difficulty to swallow liquids) is one of the symptoms of rabies, a near fatal disease caused by the bite of animals affected with the virus.

Mamoni Chakraborty said her son Ranjan and four other children of Bakali in Mainaguri block of the district were bitten by a mad dog a month ago.