17-year-old murdered Sapphire schoolboy for dating sister: Cops
The parents of the accused, Hindi teacher Nazia Hussain and her husband Arif Ansari — a math teacher at Taurian residential school in the city, were arrested and their 12-year-old daughter was detained for destruction of evidence in connection with the murder of Vinay Kumar Mahato.
A Class 11 student of Ranchi-based Sapphire International School was detained on Wednesday for allegedly murdering a 12-year-old boy of the same school over the latter’s relations with his sister.
The parents of the accused, Hindi teacher Nazia Hussain and her husband Arif Ansari — a math teacher at Taurian residential school in the city, were arrested and their 12-year-old daughter was detained for destruction of evidence in connection with the murder of Vinay Kumar Mahato.
Police said the deceased used to like the couple’s daughter and had been dating her for the last couple of months, but this didn’t go down well with her 17-year-old brother.
The girl’s brother on February 4 afternoon invited Mahato to join him and his sister for a party between 12 am and 1 am at their residence in the teachers’ hostel. The 12-year-old accepted the invitation and slipped out of his hostel barefooted at around 1:10 am, as per the footage from a CCTV camera installed near the principal’s residence.
When Mahato reached their residence, the brother questioned him about his relations with his sister and threatened him to stop seeing her. Following a heated argument, the brother started throwing punches. When Mahato tried to escape, the brother grabbed him by his neck and repeatedly hit his head against the wall, which is when he fell unconscious, said the police.
Nazia and her daughter, who were reportedly asleep during the attack, woke up to find Mahato on the floor and presumed he was dead. They then attempted to hide his body but failed, and instead threw him from their first-floor balcony, according to the police.
Nazia’s son then called up his father, who lives in the Taurian school campus in Tupudana, to inform him about the incident. The father reportedly advised them to destroy all the evidence. They wiped the blood off the floor and removed other evidence that could lead the police to them.
Mahato was later found bleeding profusely on the front porch of the teachers’ hostel and rushed to a hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on the way.
The accused were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for murder and destruction of evidence.
“The couple has been arrested. They tried to destroy the evidence,” said senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Dwivedi.
Nazia and Arif were presented before the media with their faces covered during a press conference held on Wednesday evening at the SSP’s office.
“We will produce them in court on Thursday. The minors would be sent to the juvenile justice board for further action,” Dwivedi said, adding that the investigation was still on.
He, however, refused to comment on whether the school management would be booked for the alleged security lapses. “A committee has been constituted in this regard. We will act once the committee submits its findings,” Dwivedi said.
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