Delhi boy found dead in school: Argument led to murder, he was punched by classmates

Police said they identified the accused with the help of closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage.

NEW DELHI: Police on Friday apprehended three boys for allegedly beating their 14-year-old classmate to death inside the toilet of a private school in northeast Delhi’s Karawal Nagar on Thursday morning and said that a fourth is currently absconding.

The family of Tushar Kumar (in photo) have held that he was beaten to death, but the school claimed he was unwell and that led to his death.

The accused boys, aged around 15 years, have been charged with murdering Tushar Kumar. Kumar’s body was found inside the washroom of Jeewan Jyoti Senior Secondary School in Sadatpur area, where he studied in Class 9.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) AK Singla said they zeroed in on the apprehended juveniles with the help of closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage.

“During the questioning of those boys, it emerged that Tushar was punched by three of his classmates in the toilet. On Thursday morning, there was an argument between the boy and the three accused and later when he went to the toilet, they followed him there and thrashed him,” Singla said.

While police said what led to the fight was not clear, Tushar’s father Sunil Ootwal demanded that caste angle be probed as “higher caste boys in the school were jealous of a Valmiki boy doing well academically.”

Ootwal, a sanitation worker with North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said there were five boys who followed Tushar into the toilet and left before them.

“All those responsible for my child’s murder should be held. The five boys followed him to the toilet and later one of them is also seen coming out briefly to check if someone was around and went back inside. A few minutes later, all of them came out one after the other barring Tushar,” said Ootwal.

Responding to the father’s claim of there being more than four accused, Singla said in the footage they have scanned only four children were seen following Tushar but added that they would check if more footage is available and take action accordingly.

Singla, however, said it is now emerging that the fight started between two classmates of Tushar and he merely intervened in support of one.

Police have dropped the provision of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and added section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

A medical board comprising three senior doctors conducted the autopsy of the deceased on Friday even as police suspect that internal injuries caused the death.

Singla said probe is on to find if there was any negligence on the part of the school.