The murder of Class 10 student Nayan Santani has exposed a troubling pattern of unchecked violence at his Maninagar school, where police now say at least a dozen brawls had taken place before Tuesday’s fatal stabbing. City crime branch officers are probing why repeated fights were overlooked and whether Seventh Day Adventist Higher Secondary School took any preventive steps.
The school has been the target of legal action from the Crime Branch, which claims it did not respond appropriately to the emergency.
Gujarat has been rocked by the incident, with demonstrators damaging property, indulging in vandalism, and reportedly assaulting staff members.
In light of the violent episode, investigators are now actively pursuing legal action over the violent escalation.
Now, it has emerged that the officers have sought reports from the district education officer, city control room, and local police, following inputs that at least 12 incidents of brawls had taken place on or around the school campus.
A crime branch officer has revealed to media outlets that preliminary information from locals, students, and school staff indicated this was not the first time violence had erupted at the school.
An officer told a leading daily that there had been multiple instances of fights between students in the past, although none as severe as the current one. He added that they would examine the details of each incident to determine how many directly involved the victim and the juvenile accused, and how many were related to other students.
Locals told police that student fights were so frequent they often created panic-like situations outside the school gates. In the latest case, Santani had been in conflict with the cousin of the accused juvenile, which escalated and ended with his fatal stabbing.
Records of student altercations have been sought from the local police and control room. Investigators were also investigating if the accused and the deceased had fought outside the school before, he added, and whether the school administration had taken any action in those cases.
Investigators confirmed that both Santani and the accused had “a long history of teasing and bullying each other” that culminated in the murder. Fellow students also revealed that both groups had been reprimanded by the principal and asked to quit fighting about a week or 10 days ago, after one particularly heated altercation.
On Tuesday, just after school, Santani was attacked following another flare-up.
The juvenile accused, armed with a paper cutter and accompanied by a Class 8 student, stabbed him in the stomach. The episode happened outside the school premise.
Despite being badly wounded, he managed to run back into the school compound before collapsing. He was rushed to Sardar Patel Hospital by fellow students but succumbed to his injuries.
Also Read: Seventh Day School Faces Legal Action Amid Public Outrage Over Student’s Death https://www.vibesofindia.com/seventh-day-school-faces-legal-action-amid-public-outrage-over-students-death/
