A class VII student was allegedly beaten to death by his seniors and his body buried by school authorities inside the campus near Rishikesh to hush up the matter, the police said on Thursday.
The incident took place on March 10 but it came to light after the intervention of the Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Dehradun SSP Nivedita Kukreti said.
The 12-year-old boy had allegedly stolen some biscuits during an outing, prompting the school authorities to stop all students from leaving the campus as a punishment.
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The boy was allegedly beaten up with cricket bats and stumps by his seniors as they considered him responsible for the school stricture, the SSP said.
He was tortured for hours by his seniors in the afternoon and was later taken to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead by doctors, Ms. Kukreti said.
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Instead of reporting the matter to police immediately, the boy’s body was buried inside the campus by the school authorities to cover up the matter, she said. They did not even inform the boy’s parents who live in Hapur, the SSP said.
Five people — the boarding school manager, warden, physical training teacher and two students — have been arrested in connection with the incident and booked under different IPC sections, including 302 (murder), Ms. Kukreti said.
The body was exhumed by the police on Tuesday to conduct a post-mortem.