E-Paper
Hathras schoolboy’s murder: Long before he opened school, key accused was faith healer
The DL Public School, where the boy was a Class 2 student and lived in the hostel, is located in Rasgawan while his home is in Tursen.
A day after the brutal murder of an 11-year-old schoolboy in Hathras allegedly as part of a botched plot for a human sacrifice came to light, details have emerged from villagers’ accounts that long before he opened the school in question, one of the key accused, Jasodhan Singh, was a “bhagat”(faith healer) for common villagers, curing supposedly supernatural ailments.
Later, when the school was up and running, he mysteriously kept a room for himself at the rear portion of the school compound, the villagers said.
While villagers and police spoke about Jasodhan Singh, one of the arrested men and the father of the school manager, grief, a shocked silence and anxiety about the future of their children tied the villages of Rasgawan and Tursen together with a common thread. The DL Public School, where the boy was a Class 2 student and lived in the hostel, is located in Rasgawan while his home is in Tursen.
“Jasodhan Singh suffered paralysis seven years ago. Before that, he used to treat villagers coming to him. He was famous as “bhagat”, a term commonly associated with those treating supernatural ailments or having no scientific basis in medical science,” said a villager.
“We have evidence that Jasodhan Singh was indulging in occult practices in the past too and was the mastermind in this case too with his son, the principal and teachers colluding to leave the child dead,” Hathras superintendent of police Nipun Agarwal said.
Agarwal stood firm with the assertion that the police had worked out the case, blaming the accused for carrying out occult practices for betterment of the school and their family.
“After the initial FIR, another case has been registered on an FIR by the Khand Siksha Adhikari for violation of norms by school management,” he said.
“Yes, there was a failed attempt on September 6 when another student residing in the hostel was targeted, but was fortunate to escape,” the Hathras SP said.
“In case the need is felt, we shall have the accused on police custody remand to make a watertight case,” Agarwal said.
The murder of the boy was committed on September 22 night but was exposed by Hathras police on September 27 while arresting five of the accused, including school manager Dinesh Lal Baghel, his father and alleged occult practitioner Jasodhan Singh, school principal Laxman Singh, besides two teachers Veer Pal aka Veeru and Ram Pal Solanki.
Meanwhile, the silence in the villages was broken by a convoy of cars when the State Commission for Children Rights chairperson and two members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights reached there with basic shiksha adhikari Swati Bharti and Hathras additional superintendent of police AK Singh.
All gates of the DL Public School were locked on Saturday, making the premises vacant quite in contrast to the scene a week ago when almost 700 students, including two dozen hostellers, were present.
Shri Krishna Kushwaha, father of the murdered boy, fell at the feet of Uttar Pradesh State Child Protection Commission chairman Devendra Sharma who reached his house along with two members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Saturday.
Having lost their only son, Sri Krishna and his wife are at a loss of words. Their four-year-old daughter studies at DL Public School as a day scholar. A lower kindergarten student, she joined the school this year.
“I want justice and those guilty should be hanged in public and their school bulldozed. Police have done their job till now but we are really disappointed by education department, which appeared to have been waiting for a tragedy to happen, before swinging into action. It has now closed the school and registering a case for violation of norms including that of a running hostel without authority,” said the boy’s father.
Uttar Pradesh State Child Protection Commission chairman Devendra Sharma, on his part, assured all support and stated that a probe will be undertaken to identify all those guilty and there will be no injustice to the family which has lost its child in such an unfortunate manner.
Rasgawan village has about 2200 voters and about 200 to 225 of children here are students at DL Public School. The village population consists of Thakurs, Jatavs and others, including Baghels, almost in equal numbers.
“We are now clueless as to what will happen to the academic future of our children, who were students at school, which is now locked. I had paid ₹10,000 as 6 months’ fees for my three grandchildren a week ago. Now I have to make efforts to save the academic year of my grandchildren,” said Bhajan Lal, resident of Rasgawan.
“We are in shock and our children are now afraid to go to school,” said another villager, who too raised questions about the future of 700 students of the school, which has been shut mid-session.
“The school came up five years ago as an English medium institution but was closed because of the lockdown. It became functional again after the pandemic and grew with students coming even from other districts like Mathura. But most of the students are from villages nearby and they come by school van,” said Ajay Baghel, a villager.
A nine-year-old boy, riding a cycle at Behardoi village nearby, turns back when called by his grandfather and stands in front of the HT reporter. He narrates what happened to him on September 6.
“I had food on September 6 night and went to sleep but was shocked to find ‘uncle’ (Jasodhan Singh) holding my neck and strangulating me till I managed to scream for help. A teacher and other students at hostel rushed and ‘uncle’ let go of him,” the nine-year-old child said.
“Father of the child received a call that his son was suffering from epilepsy. Dinesh Baghel came by car and took the parents, and grandmother of the child along and brought back the child who stayed at home for days together as he was frightened to join (school) again. He went to school for two days before the incident and was there when a similar attempt was made on the Class 2 student,” said the uncle of the nine-year-old boy.
A double-storey house in the middle of Rasagawan village belongs to the Baghel family which ran the school.
The patriarch of the family, Dori Lal, 90, lies on cot on the ground floor. His son Jasodan Singh, 65, and grandson Dinesh Baghel, 44, are innocent, said Dori Lal, who has lived in Rasgawan since his birth.
After the arrest of Jasodhan and Dinesh, the remaining members of the family staying at the house are mostly women.
Dinesh’s sister Vineeta Baghel said, “There is someone who was either jealous or had enmity with our family who conspired and brought about the closure of the school.”
