14-yr-old Delhi student stabbed to death outside Shakarpur school

Officers said the incident stemmed from personal enmity between the victim and one of the apprehended schoolmates, which escalated after an argument over a ball during a game earlier that day an officer said.

A 14-year-old boy, studying at a Delhi government school in east Delhi, died on Friday evening after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of at least seven people, including five schoolmates and two adults, police said on Saturday.

14-yr-old Delhi student stabbed to death outside Shakarpur school

The victim, a Class 9 student, was stabbed in the thigh with a knife during the attack outside the school, leading to his death from excessive bleeding. Police have apprehended the five minors, students of Classes 9 and 12, aged between 14 and 17, and arrested the two adults, aged 19 and 31. While the victim was a resident of Ganesh Nagar, the accused stayed in the Mandawali area. HT has withheld the identities of the adults due to their link with the minors associated in the case.

Officers said the incident stemmed from personal enmity between the victim and one of the apprehended schoolmates, which escalated after an argument over a ball during a game earlier that day an officer said. 

According to deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (east) Abhishek Dhania, the incident took place around 6pm on Friday when students were leaving the school after extra classes. “Earlier in the day, an altercation had broken out between the victim and his classmate during a break over a ball, after it hit the classmate,” he added. 

The classmate borrowed another student’s phone and called a family member, instructing them to “send people” to resolve the matter, police said. According to police, the person who answered the call was the uncle of the classmate. The uncle is among the arrested adults, police said.

“By the end of the school day, the classmate and his associates, including two outsiders and four other students, were waiting outside the main gate. One of the seniors stabbed the boy in his right thigh with a knife, causing severe injuries. The attackers fled, leaving the injured student bleeding,” said DCP Dhania. 

School staff initially provided first aid to the injured boy and transported him to Hedgewar Hospital, where doctors referred him to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital due to the severity of his condition, officers aware of the incident said. However, the minor succumbed to his injuries before reaching GTB Hospital. His body was handed over to his family after an autopsy on Saturday, the officer added. Police withheld the exact time of death citing ongoing probe.  

DCP Dhania said the classmate admitted to harbouring a grudge against the victim, fearing that the boy might harm him.  The knife used in the crime and the attackers’ clothes have been recovered, he added. 

Police inspected the crime scene, registered a case of murder under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The apprehended minor boys were produced before the juvenile justice board (JJB) while the arrested men were taken to a district court, police said.