Udaipur violence: Teenage victim of stabbing succumbs to injuries

The boy, Devraj, was attacked by a fellow student outside their school over some issue on Friday. After the incident, the local police had detained the accused and arrested his father.

Jaipur: The class X student, who was stabbed by his classmate on Friday (16 August) over a minor dispute leading to a communal flare-up in Udaipur, died on Monday in a government hospital here, where he was undergoing treatment.

It was reported that his condition deteriorated around 3 pm in the afternoon and he died around 5:30 pm while undergoing treatment at Maharana Bhupal hospital. His sister Suhani and cousins had tied Rakhi on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan today around 2 pm. His body has been kept in the mortuary for post-mortem.

The tragic news came on a day Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma sent a team of doctors from Jaipur to monitor the situation and provide the necessary healthcare to the child. The medical team and police, earlier, had said that his condition is stable.

The student, Devraj (15), was stabbed by his classmate in their school, Rajkiya Ucch Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Bhattiyani Chouhatta, after a minor dispute, sometime after lunch break on that fatal day. Devraj was said to have been stabbed at least three times on his knee, which caused arterial damage and deep wounds, affecting blood circulation.

Both the students belong to different religions and the incident has led to unrest in the city amongst the communities, including arson and the closure of shops and markets around the region. Police had to impose Section 163 under Bharatiya Nagri Suraksha Sanhita to bring the situation under control. Internet services are also suspended and schools have remained closed as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the house of the student, who stabbed Devraj, was demolished as it was alleged to have been built on illegal forest land. The forest department allegedly had given only a day’s notice to the family for evacuation but bulldozed the house immediately, leading to many social activists questioning the government’s intention as the action seemed akin to the infamous bulldozer action frequently followed in Uttar Pradesh. However, there are reports that the said student and his family were only tenants in that house and the actual owner, an auto driver, is said to have been penalised for his tenant’s action.

After the news of the death of the kid, there is palpable tension in the area as people from different organisations have begun gathering outside the hospital, questioning the veracity of the doctors’, police and administration’s assurances that the child was stable and on the path of recovery.

Devraj’s mother and family have asked for strict punishment for the student, who stabbed their child. The student, who stabbed Devraj, has been detained along with his father, who has been questioned as to how his son could take a knife to school. The alleged student has been sent to a correctional home.

Yesterday, Devraj’s mother and his family members demanded that they be allowed to meet him and carried out a procession to the hospital. However, the authorities say the family members were never stopped from meeting their son and they got confused about permission. Women members from his family tried to enter the emergency ward forcibly.

Following the death, more police forces have been deployed in the hospital and around the city. The city has been put on high alert. The police and administration are requesting people not to pay heed to rumours.

Meanwhile, some MLAs, police and administration, are having a meeting with family members and trying to assuage their feelings.