Gurgaon: Class 10 student arrested for carrying firearm to school

Countrymade pistol found when bags were being check for Holi colours; no cartridges found.

A class 10 student of a private school in Gurgaon was arrested on Wednesday for carrying a countrymade pistol to school. His friend, who had brought the gun from Mathura and handed it to him, was also arrested, the police said. The firearm did not have any cartridges.

An 18-year-old, who is student of class 10 at a private school, was arrested on Wednesday for bringing a countrymade pistol to school. His friend, who gave him the weapon, was also arrested.(Video Grab)

A case was registered under sections 24, 25, 54 of the Arms Act at the city police station.

The accused is a resident of Jharsa village and studies in a private school near Sector 31 where the incident took place.

It was earlier thought that the accused was a minor, but the authorities established he is 18 years and three months old. He had failed to clear his class 10 board exams twice and was continuing in the same class.

His friend Ashish Sharma, 21, who gave him the gun and was also arrested. He hails from Mathura, but has been living in Jharsa for some time.

Ashish told the police that he had found the gun in a pump room in his village in UP, and brought it along to sell it off.“Ashish told us that he wanted to sell the gun, but he found no buyers. However, when he was shifting out of his rented room three months ago, he handed over the firearm to the accused,” head constable Surender Kumar, who is investigating the case, said.

The matter came to light when the school principal directed that bags of all students be checked for Holi colours, as some girl students had complained of being smeared with colour against their will. After teachers noticed that the school bag of the accused was not there, they became suspicious and took him to the principal. “The principal questioned the accused about where his bag was hidden. The accused got frightened and took the principal to his two-wheeler, in which he had hidden the bag. Teachers found the countrymade pistol in a polythene on searching the bag for Holi colours,” Kumar said.

Police added that the pistol did not have any cartridges and the accused had brought it just to show it off to his friends.

“The accused just wanted to impress his friends that he had a gun. He doesn’t have any criminal record or any intention to hurt anyone. Still, we are questioning,” Kumar said.

School principal Phoolwati Saini filed a complaint in the matter. She said she called the police control room as soon as she found that the boy was carrying a gun.

Violent and disturbing behaviour by students in city schools has been in the headlines in past few months.

In February, a 14-year-old posted a threat on the social media that he would rape his teacher and her daughter. The student, who said he posted the threat because the teacher was “very rude” has been suspended.

In January, a class 12 student had allegedly shot dead his school principal in Yamunagar. He used his father’s licensed revolver.

Last year, a class 11 student was arrested for the murder of a class 2 student inside the school toilet in September.