Canteen guard arrested for killing 5-year-old student in Jehanabad

Police further said that the post-mortem report by a three-member medical board of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) confirmed sexual assault on the minor student before his killing.

The canteen guard of a Gurukul residential school was arrested on the charges of sodomising a five-year-old UKG student before murdering him in Jehanabad, police said.

Representative image. (HT Photo)

The accused was identified as Mukesh Kumar alias Sudama, 46.

Police further said that the post-mortem report by a three-member medical board of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) confirmed sexual assault on the minor student before his killing.

Jehanabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Aprajit Lohan told the media that the arrested guard killed the boy with a sharp-edged weapon under the influence of alcohol. The accused confessed to the crime during interrogation and claimed that several students used to taunt him by calling him impotent, as his wife had left him.

Based on the statement of the deceased’s father, a first information report (FIR) was registered at Karuna police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act, naming hostel owner Tarun Kumar alias Gandhi and other employees as accused. The police had earlier arrested the hostel owner and sent him to judicial custody.

Following the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed. During the investigation, forensic evidence came to light after the FSL team recovered bloodstains from the spot as well as the sharp weapon used in the crime.

The SP further said that the re-examination of the scene revealed several important pieces of evidence. Bloodstains were found in the kitchen sink. A sharp weapon with bloodstains was recovered from outside the washroom window. CCTV footage also showed suspicious movements of the accused, who was seen going up and down the stairs several times on the night of the incident. He further said, “When all the children went to sleep after the TV was switched off, Mukesh was keeping an eye on them. Later, when a child went towards the canteen, Mukesh took him to the stairs, sexually assaulted him, and killed him with the intention of destroying evidence. The school administrator was also sent to jail as he attempted to conceal the incident and present it as an accident.”

The accused told police, “I was angry with the children and the hostel owner. I had bought liquor from the Town police station area and consumed it in my room. I was disturbed throughout the night due to the children’s laughter and went outside. The children used to tease me by calling me impotent. I was mentally disturbed, and my wife had left me, which affected my behaviour. I committed this crime in a state of anger and intoxication.”

The victim’s grandfather said, “My child was admitted to the residential school on April 1. His elder brother also studies in Class 1 in the same school. In the morning, I was informed that the child was serious and taken to the hospital. When we reached there, we were told he had died. We saw knife wounds on his chest and neck, and his body had been cleaned. There were no clothes on the body.”

He further said the school administration claimed the child had fallen somewhere, which raised suspicion. “We feel something is being hidden. Many things are being said by different people, but we want the truth to come out. My two grandsons used to sleep together, but on the night of the incident, our younger grandson was taken away separately,” he added.