Man shoots teacher dead inside Lakhimpur Kheri school, kills self

The incident took place around 11:30 am at Children’s Academy School on Shahpura Kothi road, opposite the Lakhimpur Kheri collectorate, while classes were underway.

A 26-year-old schoolteacher was shot dead inside a private school in Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday morning by an armed man, 28, who had come to meet her. The accused then shot himself dead with the same country-made pistol, police said.

The corridor of Children’s Academy School in Lakhimpur Kheri where the shooting took place on Monday. (Sourced)

The incident took place around 11:30 am at Children’s Academy School on Shahpura Kothi road, near the Kheri head post office, while classes were underway.

Kheri senior superintendent of police (SSP) Khyati Garg identified the deceased as Nishat Fatima, 26, a resident of Hidayatnagar, and the accused as Mohammad Saud Ansari, 28, of Naurangabad. Fatima had been teaching at the school for about a year, Garg said.

According to the SSP, Saud reached the school around 11:30 am to meet Fatima and met her on the ground floor. He then accompanied her to the first floor, where he allegedly shot her with a country-made pistol in the corridor outside the senior-KG classroom before shooting himself. “Both died on the spot,” Garg said.

Kotwali Sadar police registered an FIR under Sections 103(1) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Saud, his father Qayum Ansari and his mother, whose name was not immediately available.

Multiple gunshots caused panic among school staff and children. According to school staff, nursery and KG classes had ended around 11:30 am and parents had begun arriving to take their children home when the firing took place.

The firing occurred in the first-floor corridor outside room No 11. As news of the incident spread, anxious parents gathered outside the school.

ASP East Pavan Kumar Gautam, DSP Lakhimpur Vivek Tiwari and city Kotwali in-charge Rajesh Kumar Singh, along with police personnel, reached the school. SSP Garg and district magistrate Anjani Kumar Singh also reached the spot and conducted preliminary investigations.

A forensic team was called to collect evidence. Police are examining how Saud entered the school carrying a firearm and reached the first floor. CCTV footage and the school’s security arrangements will be reviewed, Garg said.

“The police will also examine the school’s security arrangements, CCTV coverage and the standard operating procedures governing the entry of visitors into the premises,” she said.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination, Garg said.

‘If I die suddenly…’: Cryptic post hours before school shooting puzzles cops

“If I die suddenly...” hours before Mohd Saud Ansari allegedly shot dead a woman teacher inside a Lakhimpur Kheri school and then killed himself, a cryptic message appeared on an Instagram account allegedly linked to him.

The post, made a few hours before Monday’s shooting, asked people to delete his photographs and messages and report his Facebook account. By the time the shooting took place, the message had become a potential clue for investigators trying to understand what was going through Ansari’s mind and what led him to the school.

“If I die suddenly, I respectfully request you all please delete my pictures from your phone and social network, clear my messages and report my Facebook account.....” the post read.

The account, identified as “onior5911”, is allegedly linked to Ansari. Police are examining the post as part of the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, though officials said a social media message alone cannot establish the motive.

Then there is the second clue: police sources said two country-made pistols were allegedly recovered from Ansari’s bag. Investigators are examining why he was carrying two firearms and whether this was connected to his visit to the school.

His earlier Instagram posts are also being scrutinised. One photograph carried the words “feelings died, ego survived”, while another read “use bhool ja use bhool ja”.

Investigators are now looking at their recent interactions, Ansari’s movements and CCTV footage to establish what happened between the two before the shooting.

For now, the cryptic post, the alleged firearms recovery and the earlier messages remain pieces of a puzzle. Police are trying to establish whether they form part of the same sequence or are unrelated to the shooting.