School principal shot dead by Class 12 student in MP's Chhatarpur; accused flees in deceased's scooter

The accused and his associate are believed to be students from the same school. Saxena had been the school's principal for five years.

A Class 12 student allegedly shot dead his school principal in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district on Friday and fled from the scene along with his associate, taking the scooter of the deceased, news agency PTI reported.

The accused shot principal SK Saxena (55) in his head near the entrance of Dhamora Government Higher School toilet.(Shruti Tomar (HT))

Superintendent of Police Agam Jain said the accused shot principal SK Saxena (55) in his head near the entrance of Dhamora Government Higher School toilet around 1.30 pm. The principal died on the spot, police said.

Investigations have been launched, and forensic teams have been deputed to the crime scene to collect evidence.

The accused and his associate are believed to be students from the same school. District education officer-in-charge RP Prajapati added that Saxena had been the school's principal for five years.

According to an NDTV report, the accused followed the principal on his way to the toilet and shot at his head. The gunshot sound sent the school staff into panic, who rushed to the spot and found the principal's body lying in a pool of blood.

The brother of deceased believes the killing to be an act of "well-planned conspiracy", the report adds. “Some individuals at the school were pressuring him unnecessarily and harassing him to carry out wrongful acts. This murder appears to be part of a planned conspiracy,” said Rajendra Saxena.

Vice-principal killed in UP's Moradabad

Four people, including a minor, were arrested on November 7 for the murder of a school vice principal who was shot dead a day before in a village in Moradabad, police said, adding that Shababul Alam’s murder was to avenge the death of a 14-year-old boy earlier this year.

Two of the suspects are the boy’s brothers, one is their mother, and the other is a friend. They were identified as Shivam Raghav and his minor brother, the boys’ mother, Kavita Raghav, and Shivam’s friend, Harsh Choudhary.

Moradabad SP (city) Ranvijay Singh said the accused confessed that they were involved in the murder of vice principal Alam to avenge the death of Shivam’s younger brother, who was a student in a school where Alam was the vice principal.

It is said that Alam had scolded the boy, after which he allegedly died by suicide on February 14.