Body of 13-year-old found in Delhi’s Molarband drain, 2 nabbed

Two suspects, also in their teens and students of the same class at the government school at Tajpur Pahadi, were held on Friday

A 13-year-old boy was allegedly bludgeoned to death by two classmates near a school in south Delhi’s Badarpur, police said on Friday, with the victim’s family alleging he was being bullied and may have been killed for standing up for himself.

The body, still in uniform, was recovered around 8.30pm on Thursday. (Representational Image)

Two suspects, also in their teens and students of the same class at the government school at Tajpur Pahadi, were held on Friday.

“During the investigation, it was revealed that the victim had seen the classmates smoking cigarettes and threatened to reveal this to school officials. Hearing this, the duo lured him to an isolated spot and assaulted him, causing him serious head injuries that proved fatal. The apprehended minor boys shall be produced before the juvenile justice board (JJB) on Saturday,” said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Rajesh Deo, adding that the bullying allegation was also being looked at

The body, still in uniform, was recovered around 8.30pm on Thursday after police got a phone call by a woman who ostensibly witnessed the attack. According to the woman, the two teenagers stoned the boy and pushed him into a drain.

The deceased was identified as Saurabh Kumar and his family said he was being bullied in school for his height, and believe that he was killed when he stood up to them.

A murder case has been registered in the matter, Deo said.

According to police, Kumar lived with his parents and a sister at Bilaspur Camp in Molarband Village near Badarpur. His father is a building painter while his mother works at an electrical items manufacturing factory in Molarband.

On Thursday, the teenager left home for school at around 12pm since his classes were in the second shift, starting at 2pm, said his sister Preeti Kumari, 17. She said he usually returned home by 6pm. But when he did not return till 6.30pm, the family set out looking for him in the neighbourhood and the school.

While his parents were still searching for him, the Badarpur police station received a call at around 8.20pm about a schoolboy being attacked by two people near Khatushyam Park.

A police team went to the caller’s location, who then accompanied the personnel to a drain from where the body was recovered. A school bag with textbooks and other study material was found at a distance, and further away, there were bloodstained stones and a white cotton towel. “Multiple head injuries, apparently caused by blunt objects, were found on the schoolboy’s body. The presence of stones with blood stains near the body hinted that they may have been used for bludgeoning him to death. The boy’s body was shifted to AIIMS mortuary for autopsy,” the DCP said.

The family of the deceased also blamed schoolteachers for the alleged murder, saying that they had requested he not be shifted to a different section where some older students bullied him for his short height.

“Our mother had gone to the school on Thursday and requested the teacher to not shift him to the new section. However, the teacher refused to do so,” alleged Kumari.

Police said the exact motive will only be ascertained after and nabbing the suspects are held and questioned. “Their interrogation will help us establish the exact motive behind the murder. As of now, we are looking into all possibilities,” said the DCP. The boy’s family and neighbours held a protest against the alleged killing death on main Molarband Road. Later, BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri met the victim’s family and provided them with an assistance of ₹2 lakh.

The Delhi government was yet to issue a comment on the matter. Officials in the Directorate of Education said the police were conducting investigation. “The incident is unfortunate... until inquiry is completed, we don’t want to jump to a conclusion,” said an official.

Dr Nimesh G Desai, senior consultant psychiatrist and former director, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Delhi, said bullying was a common phenomenon. “Besides implementation of rules, sensitisation in schools is necessary to tackle power-based exploitation,” Desai said.