With increasing cases of juvenile delinquency, an incident involving a student, 14, of Class X has come to light after he was booked for allegedly pouring petrol on his classmate and setting him ablaze on school premises in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, September 12, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
The accused, detained later, was suspended with immediate effect by the school authorities. He was said to be agitated over a dispute with the victim due to damage caused to his school bag, said police.
According to the sources, the boy who reportedly received 25 per cent burns during the incident, was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital affiliated to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and he was reported to be stable.
In the meantime, the victim's parents approached the Civil Lines police and lodged an FIR against the absconding accused.
"The incident took place at Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh AMU City School affiliated to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The two classmates had some dispute after the bag of one of them was damaged by the other," said Mohd Wasim Ali, AMU proctor.
"The boy, whose bag was damaged, brought diesel from the school generator on the campus, poured it on his classmate and set him afire. The incident created panic on the school campus," added Ali.
How it all started
According to fellow students, the actual tiff between the victim and the accused had begun on Monday, September 11. The principal and teachers intervened and pacified both students and let them off with a warning.
On Tuesday, the accused boy and three of his friends went out of the class during the interval and filled an empty bottle with diesel from the school generator. He poured petrol on the victim from behind and set his school bag and uniform on fire, they said.
"The accused boy was produced in the court on Wednesday and sent to the Juvenile Home as per directives of the court," said a senior police officer of Aligarh.