Ahmedabad: A Class-X student of a prominent school in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, died on Wednesday, a day after he was stabbed by a junior. As news of the death spread, parents gathered outside the gate of the Seventh-Day Adventist Higher Secondary School in Khokhra and staged a protest. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – the students’ wing of the BJP – lent support to the protesters and demanded action against school authorities.
The incident occurred on Tuesday outside the main gate of the school. After the end of school, the Class-X student, identified as Nayan, left the campus. He was on his way back home when the Class-VIII student accosted him over some incident that had taken place in the past. The accused and some other boys surrounded Nayan following which a verbal altercation started. Things became physical soon and the younger boy whipped out a knife and stabbed his senior before fleeing the spot.
CCTV footage shows Nayan walking back into the school compound with his hand clutching his bleeding stomach. He was rushed to a private hospital in Maninagar, where he died of his injuries later.
The younger boy ran towards the rear of the school building in an attempt to escape, but was spotted by the security guard. He informed the school authorities and the police. The boy was arrested and an FIR was registered. He will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act as he is a minor. CCTV footage of the spot has been collected by the police along with other evidence. The statements of students present during the incident were recorded.
School authorities have claimed that they had nothing to do with the incident as it occurred outside the premises. They also accused the parents and ABVP workers of damaging school property and assaulting staff.
State education minister Prafulbhai Panseriya expressed condolences to Nayan’s family and urged protesting parents to maintain peace. He assured that justice will be served and also floated the idea of conducting a study on rising crime among children. Panseriya blamed violence depicted on social media and online games for this trend.