Nearly two weeks after a 12-year-old boy died after he was allegedly beaten up by his seniors at a government school in North Delhi's Shastri Nagar, the Delhi Police on Thursday, 1 February, registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Kintan Saraswat, a class 6 student at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya School in North Delhi, died on 20 January, nine days after he was allegedly 'thrashed' by his seniors for accidentally bumping into one of them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Manoj Kumar Meena said that the minor's postmortem report showed the cause of death as "septicemic shock due to an injury to the left knee due to blunt force trauma [sic]."
Subsequently, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the Sarai Rohilla police station under Section 304 (culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Police officials confirmed to The Quint that further investigation is underway and that they are questioning the students suspected of being involved in the case. No one has been apprehended as yet, they added.
'He Told Me That His Seniors Beat Him': Father Says in FIR
According to the FIR accessed by The Quint, the incident took place allegedly on 11 January.
In his statement to the police, Rahul Saraswat, the victim's father and a daily-wage worker at a private courier company, said that his son, on returning from school, told him that he was beaten by senior students of the school and complained of a injury on his left knee.
Speaking to The Quint earlier, Rahul said:
"My son told me that during recess, he went to use the washroom. When he was returning to the classroom, he accidentally bumped into a senior boy. He told me that the senior called other kids and beat him up. He told me that they lifted him forcefully, threw him on the ground, and continued beating him."
DCP (North) said that the family took the son to the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital in Ashok Vihar, where he was prescribed some medicines and referred to the orthopaedic OPD for further treatment.
"The ortho OPD was closed on January 11 when they went to the hospital at 3.28 pm and the patient did not report to the PD subsequently," the official said.
Four days later, on 15 January, the minor was taken to a private clinic in Rohini, where more medicines were prescribed.
While Kintan felt better after the medicines, the family claimed to The Quint that he began experiencing pain again a few days after. On 20 January, when the health of the minor deteriorated, he was taken to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, where he died during treatment, police officials said.
'Shock As a Result of Blunt Force Trauma': Postmortem Report
Kintan's parents alleged that negligence by the school authorities as well as the doctors who treated him resulted in their son's death.
Accordingly, a medical board was constituted to conduct the postmortem report of the deceased boy, said DCP (North) Meena. "The postmortem was video graphed and photographed," the official added.
The report, accessed by The Quint, stated, "Septicaemic shock as a result of antemortem injury to the left knee produced by blunt force impact."
Speaking to The Quint on the condition of anonymity, a police official said, "The investigation is underway. We have checked the CCTV footage. We have also spoken to students. Since it is a case related to juveniles, it has to be handled carefully and in accordance with what the law states. We have received some information and will take action accordingly."
'Why Is There a Delay in Taking Action?' Ask Kintan's Parents
Meanwhile, Kintan's parents, Rahul and Soni Saraswat, along with other parents of students in the Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya School, have been staging a protest outside the school, demanding justice for Kintan.
Questioning the alleged delay on part of the school authorities and the police, Rahul told The Quint, "Since 15 January, I have visited the school several times to talk to the authorities regarding the assault against Kintan. I was not given a reason and sent away. I reached out to the police on 20 (January), and it has been twelve days, and we have no idea as to who the culprits are. Why is there so much delay? What are they hiding?"
The Quint was unable to reach the school authorities for a comment. This story will be updated as and when we receive a response.
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