Class X student kills classmate, mob vandalises Gujarat school

An officer said that the police detained the accused after the attack, while the victim succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday night.

State Education Minister Praful Pansheriya had earlier said that a Class X student was stabbed by his junior. However, the police clarified that both the attacker and the victim were students of Class X.

“A Class X student stabbed his classmate at Seventh Day School yesterday. The victim died during treatment at night. The police have registered an FIR and detained the juvenile accused,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Jaipal Singh Rathore.

On Wednesday morning, hundreds of people, including victim’s kin, parents of other students and members of the Sindhi community, stormed the school premises and demanded action against the administration.

The situation soon escalated into a chaos, with the mob damaging school buses and other vehicles parked at the institute. The protesters also assaulted the school staff, the police said.

Although the police personnel initially struggled to bring the situation under control, they later pushed the mob out of the school premises.

Protesters then staged a sit-in on the road, blocking traffic and shouting slogans against the police. They also demanded action against the school administration.

The incident also took a communal colour as it was revealed that the accused student belonged to a minority community while the victim was a member of the Sindhi community.

Local MLA Amul Bhatt requested the mob to maintain peace. He asked protesters to submit their demands and allow the police to do their job.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sharad Singhal told reporters that the city police commissioner had accepted the protesters’ demand to hand over the investigation to the crime branch.

He further assured them that the police would verify the parents’ claim that six to seven persons had helped the accused in the crime and the school administration had 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 department concerned for action. He said the police were also scanning CCTV footage to identify vandals.

Pansheriya termed the murder as an “unfortunate and a red signal for a civilised society”.

“An investigation is on. The education department will study the case,” he said, while expressing concern over rising aggression among students.