What is death, 8-year-old asks Hyderabad police after ‘killing’ 6-year-old

HYDERABAD: “What is death?” This was what an eight-year-old boy in Hyderabad asked the police when questioned why he allegedly killed a six-year-old schoolmate after

HYDERABAD: “What is death?” This was what an eight-year-old boy in Hyderabad asked the police when questioned why he allegedly killed a six-year-old schoolmate after a scuffle over repeated bullying.

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Last Tuesday, the eight-year-old Class 3 student repeatedly teased his junior, the six-year-old Class 1 student, for a runny nose during the lunch-break, police said. Enraged, the younger boy reportedly hurled abuses, triggering a brawl.

During the fight, the older boy kicked the six-year-old in the stomach and private parts, sources said.

The Class 1 student collapsed during the scuffle and the school management rushed him to a local hospital, where he was given first aid and sent home.

But later in the evening, he complained of severe pain in his private parts and was taken to hospital, where he underwent two surgeries to stop internal bleeding. But he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday evening. He was the son of a local cab driver.

But when police went to question the older boy about the murder, he asked them ,“Mar gaya matlab kya hai ?” (What do you mean he died ?) He claimed the younger boy had beaten him and he retaliated.

The school’s principal said the brawl might have taken place outside the premises as it was not recorded in any of the CCTV cameras installed in the school.

Police registered a case against the eight-year-old under section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide not a mounting to murder ), but did not arrest him as he is a minor. He is likely to be produced before a juvenile court on Monday.