Boy dies after scuffle with classmates

Incident at a private school in Karawal Nagar; minor apprehended

DE27 boy

A 14-year-old boy died allegedly after a scuffle broke out between him and four of his classmates in a private school on Thursday morning in north-east Delhi’s Karawal Nagar. The police have apprehended a minor.

Avdesh alias Prince, resident of Shiv Vihar, left for school along with his 12-year-old brother Amit around 7 a.m., said their father Arvind Kumar, a labourer in Gandhi Nagar.

‘Major fight’

Around 9.30 a.m., Amit was told that a major fight had broken out in school. “When he went inside the classroom to see, he saw his brother lying on the floor. There was no teacher present in the class either,” said Mr. Kumar.

Other students allegedly told Amit that a fist fight broke out between Avdesh and four of his classmates as they were not letting him complete his homework.

“From what we have been told, Avdesh was studying and the boys wanted him to go play outside. When he denied, which they started teasing and beating him,” said Mr. Kumar.

Seeing his brother on the floor, Amit shouted for help and approached the owner of the school who was allegedly in his office at the time. “He rushed to the classroom and splashed water on his face but he didn’t wake up. He then locked the room from the inside and made several phone calls. After almost half an hour, he unlocked the door after Amit shouted that his brother was dying,” Mr Kumar alleged.

Post-mortem today

Avdesh was taken to Gopal Nursing Home on Loni road, while Amit ran home to inform his mother Kanti. “She immediately left for the hospital but wasn’t allowed to go inside the room where Avdesh was admitted. But she barged in and saw him lying dead,” the father said.

The police said the minor was declared brought dead by the hospital after which his body was taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for post-mortem.

“The body has been preserved. There are no visible injuries on the boy’s body. The post-mortem will be conducted on Friday to establish the cause of death,” said DCP (north-west) A.K. Singla.

The officer said they were informed of the entire incident by the victim’s family. Preliminary investigation has allegedly revealed that the fight broke out between the victim and his classmate, who was immediately apprehended on charges of punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

“Other claims made by the family are being verified. If the role of other people appears in the investigation, legal action will be taken,” said Mr. Singla.