A Class 10 student of a private school in Ahmedabad was fatally stabbed by his junior after an altercation, raising large-scale protests and vandalism by parents and locals on Wednesday.
In the initial investigation by the police, a WhatsApp chat between the accused student and one of his friends has surfaced, which has further increased the horror of the incident. In this conversation, the accused has confessed to the murder and has not expressed any regret about it, as reported by India Today.
The chat seen by the police is as follows:
Friend: Brother, did you do anything today?
Accused: Yes.
Friend: Did you stab someone?
Accused: Who told you?
Friend: Call for a minute.
Accused: No, I am with my brother. He doesn’t know anything.
Friend: He (the victim) is dead.
Accused: Tell him (common friend) that I have killed him. He knows me, tell me right now.
Friend: What exactly happened?
Accused: He was saying to me, “Who are you? What will you do?” etc.
Friend: No one is killed over this. If you had to kill, you would have beaten him.
Accused: Whatever is done is done.
Friend: Take care of yourself. Hide for a few days and delete this chat.
Accused: Okay.
The conversation shows that there was an argument between the two students, and the accused felt deeply insulted by the victim’s words, following which he attacked. When the news of the victim’s death spread on Wednesday morning, the situation went out of control. A large number of parents, locals and members of the Sindhi community reached the school. The angry mob damaged school property, such as buses, cars and two-wheelers, and also physically assaulted some staff.
The police had a tough time controlling the mob. A senior officer said that it was challenging to handle the number and anger of the protesters, so additional forces have been deployed to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate further.
After being evicted from the school premises, the protesters started a sit-in on the road, disrupting traffic. They raised slogans against the police and the school administration and demanded action against the school, accusing it of negligence.
There has been no official response from the school so far. The accused minor has been taken into police custody and investigations are on. The police are also looking into whether there were any warning signs that the school ignored.
This incident has once again raised concerns about student safety and mental health in schools. Society and parents are now demanding reforms in the education system.
