UP CM orders probe into stabbing incident in school

In an incident that sent shock waves across the Uttar Pradesh, a six year old boy of Class 1 was stabbed by a Class 6 girl student in Bright Land School in Lucknow. Taking note of the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered an inquiry. He visited to see the boy admitted at the Trauma Centre of the King George's Medical College (KGMU) on Thursday afternoon and ordered free treatment.

The girl has been identified and arrested by the police under the Juvenile Act. "She confessed to the crime and claimed to have committed it to get a holiday declared in the school," said the SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar. The victim had also told the police and his parents, "When didi was attacking, she was mumbling that the school will be declared closed if she kills me."

Ironically, her confession is similar to what the student at Ryan International had stated during interrogation.

The police have engaged counselors and psychiatrists to ascertain the mental balance of the arrested girl. She had run away from her house six months ago.

The police also arrested the Bright Land School Director Rachit Manas and lodged an FIR against the school management for concealing the crime for a day. The incident had happened on Tuesday but the school management reported the matter to the police the next day when the picture of the victim went viral.

Agitated parents on Thursday held a demonstration outside the school and demanded action against the management for failing to provide security to students. "How can we send our kids to school if they are not safe?," said Rajesh Sharma, Hrithik's father who works as a grade IV employee at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court.

District Magistrate (Lucknow) Kaushal Kishore has directed the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) Lucknow Mukesh Singh to conduct an inquiry and check security arrangements at all schools in the state capital.

After the Rayn International incident, the Yogi Adityanath government had directed all schools in the Lucknow to install CCTVs and increase security in the school premises. Though the school has about 70 CCTVs but the act of the girl student taking the victim to the second floor of the bathroom and fleeing after committing the crime could not be caught on any camera.

The student was produced before the Juvenile Court and sent to a juvenile home in Bara Banki district.

The police have also recovered the kitchen-knife used in stabbing the boy.

Not on reel

• Though the school has about 70 CCTVs but the act of the girl student taking the victim to the second floor and fleeing after the crime could not be caught on any camera. After the Ryan International incident, CCTV cameras in schools are mandatory.