Murder or suicide? 13-yr-old burnt to death in school

A teenager, who was regularly bullied by his schoolmates, died of burn injuries after he was found in flames inside his school building. The police believe it is a case of suicide, but are not ruling out murder. HT reports.

A teenager, who was regularly bullied by his schoolmates, died of burn injuries after he was found in flames inside his school building. The police believe it is a case of suicide, but are not ruling out murder.

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Vijay Prakash (13), a Class VII student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Madhepura district, was taken to a hospital on Saturday by school authorities. But he died the next day.

"We saw him coming out of his classroom with flames enveloping his body," said a student.

School authorities poured water on him before taking him to the Sadar hospital.

There were very few students in the classroom at that time. The police believe it is a case of suicide. But they are not ruling out murder.

"It is possible that some boy used a match stick to set Prakash's clothes on fire, which led to his death," a police official said on the condition of anonymity.

"We are still investigating."

The boy's father, Upendra Rajak, accused the school authorities of killing his son.

"It is a matter of serious negligence on the part of the school administration. If my son committed suicide, as they say, what prompted him to take such an extreme step," he asked.

The school refuted the allegation.

"The moment the teachers saw the boy in flames, they sent him to the hospital. But he could not be saved," said B K Sinha, the school principal.

According to some students, a group of students used to bully Prakash and humiliate him. Prakash was often seen arguing and fighting with those boys, they said.

The district administration has ordered a probe into the incident.