Dehradun school buries body of 12-year-old boy on campus after seniors allegedly kill him for stealing biscuits

In a shocking act, a boarding school in Dehradun came under the scanner on Thursday after the authorities, in a bid to hush the killing of a 12-year-old boy, buried the body on the campus after he was beaten to death with cricket bats and wickets by his seniors for stealing biscuits. Several media reports quoted Usha Negi, chairperson of the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, as saying that when she arrived at the school, she found the school administration had already buried the body. [caption id=“attachment_5206531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Twitter @ANI[/caption] “The incident occurred on 10 March and our team was informed the next day, following which we made the visit,” Negi was quoted by News18, adding that the school management did not even inform the parents, who reside in Hapur. According to police, the incident occurred when some students of Children’s Academy near Rishikesh had gone on an outing and the victim, Vasu Yadav had allegedly stolen a packet of biscuit from a shop, following which the shopkeeper reported the matter to school authorities. This prompted the management to cancel the trip and deny the students from leaving the campus. “This infuriated the fellow students, who beat up Yadav,” Ranipokri police station in-charge PD Bhatt said. Several news dailies reported that the boy was beaten up by two Class 12 students with cricket bats and wickets and then poured cold water on him. After the assault, the victim remained in the classroom for the next few hours till he was found by the hostel warden late in the evening. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dehradun Nivedita Kukreti told Times of India that there were several lapses on the school’s part. “Not only was the boy taken very late to the hospital that led to his death, but the staff members also tried to hide the incident and did not report it to the police. He was beaten up in phases in the afternoon but he was taken to hospital late evening,” the officer said. The victim’s father said that he was informed by the school authorities over the phone that his son died of food poisoning. Five people, including two students, have been held for their involvement in the crime. The two students were booked under section 302 (murder), while a case has been registered against three staff members — the hostel manager, warden and sports teacher—under section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).  They will be produced before the magistrate later on Thursday. Earlier in September, 2018, a  16-year-old girl studying at a boarding school in Dehradun was allegedly gang-raped by four other students of the same school. The four boys and five school officials, including the principal, were arrested in connection with the case.