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Hosteller, not school owners, killed Hathras boy in Sept: Police
The youth, a class 8 student, has been charged with murder as he allegedly strangled Kratarth Kushwaha, the class 2 student, to death.
A charge sheet was filed in a Hathras court against a 15-year-old boy who allegedly killed a Class 2 student and fellow hosteller in September so that his school would declare a holiday, police said. The residential school is located under the Sahpau police station limits of the district and the incident took place in September.
The youth, a class 8 student, has been charged with murder as he allegedly strangled Kratarth Kushwaha, the class 2 student, to death. Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Ashok Kumar Singh confirmed the development and said the accused was lodged at a juvenile home.
The alleged murder took place on September 22 but came to the fore on September 27 when five people— including school manager Dilip Lal Baghel, his father and a black magic practitioner Jasodan Singh, principal Laxman Singh and teachers Veer Pal aka Veeru and Ram Pal Solanki—were arrested.
Then it was suspected that this was a case of a botched attempt for human sacrifice, and the accused were denied bail. The five, however, were no longer facing murder charges.
“Five people who were arrested earlier in connection with the case are accused of damaging evidence, concealment of news about the death of the student and running the school against norms. They continue to remain behind bars,” Singh added.
The incident took place at DL Public School located in village Rasgawan.
On December 16, the class 8 student, who lived in the same hostel as the victim, was arrested. The accused, according to police, was told that the death of a student would lead to the school declaring a holiday.
“Those running the school are also held as accused in chargesheet for anomalies such as running classes for which they were not authorised and having a residential facility without official permission. In this regard, a complaint was filed by the basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) of Hathras against the school management,” police sources said.
Kratarth’s body was found in the car of the school manager Dinesh Lal Baghel. It was then alleged that he was abducted from the hostel on September 22 night and strangulated when he resisted. The family was informed of the boy’s death on September 23. The collarbone of the child was found to be broken due to the force exerted on him.
The boy’s family members received a phone call from the school manager who stated that the boy had been suffering from fever. Later, the manager said the condition of the boy was worsening and thus the school was moving him to Agra for better treatment. The family became suspicious and followed them. The manager said he was returning from Agra when he was intercepted at Sadabad on the Agra-Hathras road. The body was then found in the car.
