Ahmedabad: A class 10 student of a private school in Ahmedabad was allegedly fatally stabbed by his classmate following an altercation, triggering a massive protest and vandalism by parents and locals Wednesday, police said.
Police detained the accused teenager following the attack, while the victim succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night, an officer said.
Police clarified that both the attacker and the victim were students of Class 10.
State education minister Praful Pansheriya had earlier said that a class 10 student was stabbed by his junior studying in class 9.
“A class 10 student stabbed his classmate at Seventh Day School yesterday. The victim died during treatment in the night. Police have registered an FIR and detained the juvenile accused,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Jaipal Singh Rathore.
Wednesday morning, hundreds of people, comprising family members of the victim, parents of other students, and members of the Sindhi community, stormed the premises of the school and demanded action against the administration.
The situation soon escalated into chaos, with the mob damaging school buses, two-wheelers, and four-wheelers parked at the institute. They assaulted the school staff, police said.
Police personnel initially struggled to bring the situation under control and pushed the mob out of the school premises.
Protesters staged a sit-in on the road, blocking traffic. They shouted slogans against the police, demanding action against the school administration.
The incident took communal colour as the accused student belongs to a minority community and the victim is a member of the Sindhi community.
“We demand justice. We have lost our child today. It would be someone else’s kid tomorrow. If strict action is not taken, such incidents will take place again,” a relative of the victim said.
Local MLA Amul Bhatt requested the mob to maintain peace with folded hands. With a megaphone in his hand, he asked them to submit their demands and allow the police to do their job.
Joint Commissioner of Police of Crime Branch Sharad Singhal told reporters that the city police commissioner has accepted the demand of protesters to hand over the investigation to the crime branch.
He said the police will verify the claim of the parents that six to seven people had helped the accused student in the crime and that the school administration destroyed evidence by summoning a water tanker.
“If involvement of other individuals is found, we will arrest them. A forensic team will verify the claim of the parents that someone from the school had summoned a water tanker to clean the crime scene. We will take strict action if evidence is found,” Singhal said.
JCP Rathore appealed to demonstrators to list their accusations against the school administration, which he said would be forwarded to the concerned department for action.
He said police are scanning footage of CCTV cameras to identify vandals.
State education minister Praful Pansheriya has termed the murder as “unfortunate and a red signal for a civilised society”.
“An investigation is on. The education department will study the case,” he said, and expressed concern over rising aggression in students.
PTI
