Murder in the classroom: Chennai boy stabs teacher

A 15-year-old Class 9 student in a school in Chennai on Thursday stabbed to death a teacher inside the classroom of his school for being strict with him. The boy reportedly brought a knife in his school bag and at 11 am entered the class, where Uma Maheshwari, the science and Hindi teacher, was waiting. He then stabbed the teacher five times on her abdomen and throat. The teacher raised an  alarm and the other students rushed in. The accused boy reportedly did not try to run away. A seriously injured Uma Maheshwari fell down bleeding in the class. She was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed on her way. School officials say the student used to attend school regularly, but was a poor performer. [caption id=“attachment_208977” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The boy who stabbed his teacher to death says he was inspired by Agneepath’s theme of vengeance.”] [/caption] There was disbelief and dismay at the private school in Chennai, after Uma Maheshwari, 31,  a mother of two, was stabbed to death, reports CNN-IBN correspondent Meenakshi Mahadevan. School authorities say that the teacher had  complained to the boy’s parents about his behaviour, and had scolded him on several occasions for neglecting his studies. School Principal Father Bosco Periyanayagam said, “He used to attend school regularly, but did not study too hard. Like any other teacher would have done, Uma wrote remarks in his school diary. That may have been why he killed her, or perhaps there is another reason we don’t know. " The student was taken into custody, and the policed questioned him, school officials and other teachers. Reports say he may be sent to a juvenile home after questioning. The Hindu reports that during questioning by police, the boy had said he had recently seen the Hindi movie Agneepath and was influenced by the hero who takes revenge on those who falsely implicate his father. The Chennai-headquartered newspaper adds that the episode has refocussed attention on the “influence of films” on young and impressionable minds. Watch the CNN-IBN video here .