NEW DELHI: In a tragic turn of events, a fight over a game of ‘pithu’ (seven stones) between two schoolmates two days ago escalated into violence on Friday when a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a group, which included his classmate, outside a government school in east Delhi’s Shakarpur. The police have detained five minors and arrested two men in connection with the case.
According to the police, “The victim, a class 9 student, got into a quarrel with his classmate during a game of ‘pithu’ two days ago. The exchange got heated between the boys and in order to exact revenge, one of the boys reportedly borrowed a mobile phone from another student at 4 pm on Friday during the break period to make a call to someone. Over the call, the boy mentioned the dispute with his classmate (the victim) and instructed the other person to ‘send people’ to resolve the matter. This conversation set the stage for the larger confrontation outside the school gate,” police said.
Police said, when students were exiting the campus after the school hours, the boy with whom the victim argued was seen waiting outside the main gate with a group of individuals. Acting on the boy’s instigation, one of the accused stabbed the victim in his thigh. The assailants fled the scene, leaving him critically injured. The victim was given first aid by the school staff and transported to Hedgewar Hospital, where he was referred to GTB Hospital due to his critical condition. The teen was declared dead at the hospital, police said.
The accused included the victim’s classmate, his uncle, relative, and other associates. Police said, one of the accused, aged 19, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in arts, and another accused, aged 31, runs a dairy shop and is the uncle of the classmate who was involved in the scuffle with the victim.
A PCR call about the incident at 6 pm on Friday and a case has been registered, police said, adding, blood-stained clothes, a pair of shoes, the weapon of offence (a knife and its cover), and clothes worn by the assailants at the time of the crime have been recovered.
Giving details about the incident, the victim’s father said, he received a call from the police on Friday evening. “I came to know that during a game, the ball had hit another student who was known to my son, leading to an argument and a scuffle. My son’s classmate made a phone call to his uncle on Friday, who sent people to the school.” Claiming that his son was thrashed and stabbed, the victim’s father said, “If my son did anything wrong, the other boy should have complained to the principal, teacher, or me. My son should not have been killed.”
The deceased is survived by his father, who runs a small shop, his mother, and two siblings. “He would go to school at 1 pm and return home at 6.30 pm, and was studying at that school since class 6,” the father said.
