Classmates beat 14-year-old to death

NEW DELHI, DHNS: A Class IX student was beaten to death by three of his classmates inside the toilet of a private school here, adding to the growing concerns over safety and security of children in schools.

The incident took place on Thursday morning in Jeevan Jyoti Senior Secondary School in Sadatpur area of north-east Delhi.

The deceased was identified as Tushar Kumar, an only child.

Police have detained three juveniles and lodged a case of murder against them under Section 302 of the IPC.

The three students were caught with the help of footage from CCTVs installed on school premises.

The police claimed that the trio admitted to committing the murder during interrogation in police custody.

"It emerged that on Thursday morning, there was an argument between Tushar and the three students. Later, when he went to the toilet, the boys followed him there and thrashed him," Deputy Commissioner of Police A K Singla said.

Though there was no visible mark of injury on Tushar's body, police suspect that he may have died after receiving hard punches from the assailants on vulnerable parts of his body. Police also said that Tushar was unwell at the time of the assault.

The police are awaiting the autopsy report.

Of late, there have been several reports about students committing serious crimes in school campuses in various states.

While the murder of 7-year old Pradhuman Thakur in the Ryan International School, Gurugram, in September shook the nation in September, a class XII student of Swami Vivekanand School at Yamunanagar in Haryana was recently booked by police for murdering his school's principal by pumping three bullets into her.

A Class I student reportedly sustained injuries when he was attacked with a sharp weapon in the toilet of Brightland School in Triveni Nagar in Lucknow on January 17. There was no teacher in the class room when the incident took place.