Classmates kill Gurgaon boy

Two 14-year-olds pump five bullets into class VII student, apparently to avenge bullying

NEW DELHI: It’s not just in the US, guns have come to Indian schools too. Two 14-year-olds shot dead a classmate in a Gurgaon school on Tuesday, apparently because he had bullied them several times, police said. 

The horrific incident took place in Gurgaon’s high-profile Euro International School at around 1.45 pm. The two standard VII students Vikas and Aakash Yadav accosted their classmate Abhishek Tyagi in the school’s corridor, and shot him with a US-made Harrison .32 bore revolver from close range.

Tyagi was rushed to the nearby Pushpanjali Hospital by school authorities but died on the way. He had been shot in the chest and the temple. Police said Aakash pumped four bullets into Abhishek and then gave the revolver to Vikas who fired one more bullet. Police said the two wanted to settle scores with Abhishek who had reportedly harassed them on several occasions. Police said the two accused had got into a fight with Abhishek a few days back.

But the school authorities had resolved the issue. The incident, which occurred when the students of the school were leaving for home, created an atmosphere of panic. School authorities and many parents rushed to the hospital where Abhishek was taken. Many parents said the situation was “very scary and the school must take stern security measures”.

Rajinder Tyagi, the victim’s father, said, “I have no idea how this incident took place. Abhishek had some differences with some of his batch mates but I could never imagine that the disputes would claim his life.”

Though the police have arrested the two boys, their parents are absconding. Police said the gun belonged to Aakash’s father, who is a property dealer based in Gurgaon. Vikas’ father too is in the real-estate business. The police said action was likely against Aakash’s father as he owned the revolver, which was licensed.

“It clear is that Aakash used his father’s revolver to commit the crime,” said Mohinder Lal, commissioner of police (Gurgaon). 

Lal said Aakash had smuggled the gun into the school. “He hid it in his socks and then hid it in the school toilet,” he said. “However, what needs to be investigated is how no one in the school came to know about what these boys were up to,” On whether action was likely against the school, Lal said the police was “probing the culpability of the school and it was too early to make a comment on the school’s role”. Ironically, the website of Euro International School claims there are cameras fitted across the school premises to monitor the activities of students. School authorities remained unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has expressed grief over the incident, saying, “It is a sad incident. The fact that a student was carrying a gun to a school is a matter of grave concern.”