Stabbed teacher dies, protests erupt in city

NEW DELHI: Everybody knew Mukesh Kumar as a dedicated school teacher who never hesitated to discipline erring students. This, however, was the reason why he was stabbed to death allegedly by two students at a government school in Nangloi on Monday evening.

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A day after the 47-year-old teacher’s murder, police arrested two Class 12 students for the crime. They were reportedly angry with Kumar because he had complained about them to their parents.

Joint commissioner of police (southwest) Dependra Pathak described the suspects as undisciplined students who often skipped classes. “One of them – a juvenile – had been rusticated due to poor attendance,” he said.

The Delhi government has granted a compensatory award of Rs 1 crore to Kumar’s family, and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, agitating teachers blocked traffic near the school for almost four hours on Tuesday. “It’ s high time the government provided us with security ,” said Vinod Kumar Mallick, who teaches at a Jahangirpuri school.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in his response, said it was the responsibility of both parents and students to restore the confidence of teachers .“Because of two individuals, all students shouldn’t be termed criminals. Parents must explain to their children that if a teacher says something, it is for their betterment…” he added.

Kumar is survived by his wife, Neelam, and three children. An hour before they murdered their teacher, the two Class 12 boys had gone to the vice-principal’s room seeking the 17-year-old student’s transfer certificate. The juvenile was rusticated due to low attendance.

While they spoke inside the vice-principal’s office, Vivek Jha, 18, the juvenile’s associate, had a knife hidden under his shirt. The two told police that the vice-principal refused to give the transfer certificate and instead asked them to meet their class teacher Mukesh Kumar.

“They told us they were furious and would have knifed the principal in his room but could not do it because other teachers came there,” an officer said.

At around 5 pm, they met Kumar who was in room number 108 on the first floor of the building. “Kumar asked them to write an application for the transfer certificate. They were already furious with him for trying to improve them. They decided to stab him,” said police.

MURDER PLANNED A WEEK AGO

A week before they stabbed Kumar, the two had planned to kill him. For a week, they saved around ₹200. On Monday afternoon, they went to the local Sultanpuri market near the school and bought a knife for ₹100. Jha had hidden the knife under his shirt.

The 17-year-old was rusticated around three months ago. He was taken back after parents requested the school authorities. He was again rusticated on September 12 for poor attendance.

“While the juvenile was expelled, Jha was on the verge of being expelled. On September 13 — a day after the expulsion — some students reportedly sent an anonymous chit to the vice-principal that Jha and the juvenile have planned a murder. Their parents were called and the matter was settled,” an officer said adding that the school vice-principal had threatened to inform the police the next time.

Joint commissioner (south west), Dependra Pathak, said the police were not informed by school authorities.

Jha and the juvenile told police that Kumar was hard on them and abused them in the class. Police are probing the role of other students, who may have known about the murder.