In the latest updates in the Panchkula assault case, it is revealed that the Class 3 student called the six-year-old upstairs under the pretext of meeting her father. A few hours later, when her father reached the school looking for her, the same boy offered to take him upstairs, where she lay unconscious in a pool of blood.
The incident occurred on October 28, at a government school in Haryana’s Panchkula. The eight-year-old brutally assaulted the minor with a brick and a flowerpot, continuously banged her head against a desk and stomped on her face and body.
What did the girl’s uncle say?
According to the girl’s uncle, the eight-year-old took the minor in the empty classroom between 3.15 pm and 4 pm. He told her, "Tere papa aa rahe hain school" (your father is coming to school) and took her to another classroom, the Indian Express reported. The girl’s uncle added that the boy thrashed her seven to eight times with a brick, banged her head against a bench and also struck her with an aluminium dustbin. He then left the room but returned around half an hour later and assaulted her again.
The KG student’s family learnt about the ordeal after the auto-rickshaw driver came to pick her up but could not find her. He informed her father, who rushed to the school.
“The boy who had attacked her met her father and told him, ‘Uncle, I will take you upstairs. She is there’. The minor’s father found her lying unconscious in a pool of blood. The six-year-old was lying there for more than two hours, he added.
FIR Lodged
An FIR has since been registered against the school management for alleged negligence, highlighting lapses in security arrangements and the safety of students. The girl, who suffered multiple injuries, including facial and nasal fractures, is undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and is now out of danger.
Captured On Cam
The incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the school. Footage reviewed during the investigation showed the Class 3 student grabbing the girl by her hair and repeatedly banging her head against a desk. After she fell to the floor, he allegedly kicked her and struck her multiple times with a brick, continuing the assault even after she lost consciousness.
The victim’s family raised concerns on how the assault went unnoticed despite CCTV cameras being installed on the premises. The uncle alleged that the principal’s duty hours ended at 3 pm and that the cameras were monitored from the principal’s room. The minor was first taken to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6. She was subsequently referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh. Her family alleged that she did not receive adequate treatment at the private hospital, according to The Indian Express.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditi Singh said preliminary findings pointed to negligence on the part of the school administration, following which an FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).