Student injured in clash over farewell party dies in Kerala; 5 minors booked

KE Baiju, Superintendent of Police, Kozhikode Rural, said a murder case had been registered against five school students under section 103 (1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the police, the clash occurred over a farewell event held at the tuition centre last Sunday. When a group of students were performing, another allegedly booed them, prompting the first group to mobilise students on WhatsApp groups.

Things came to a blow outside the tuition centre last Thursday, leaving one of them with serious injuries.

“He had gone out to buy snacks when one of the students took him to the scene of the clash. Brutally assaulted by the students of the other school, he was abandoned at home by a friend. He could not speak. He did not answer our queries and started vomiting. He was eventually put on ventilator support,” one of his relatives told the media.

After the incident came to the fore, police registered an attempt to murder case against the five students and produced them before the Juvenile Justice Board, which allowed them to leave with their parents. However, after the death of the victim Saturday, they were once again summoned before the board and eventually sent to a juvenile observation home in Kozhikode.

The SP said: “We are looking into the involvement of more students. WhatsApp group messages among the students show that more students were aware of the issue. All of them will figure in the list of the accused. The police are also looking into whether adults were involved in the attack”.

State Education Minister V Sivankutty said the education department would conduct an inquiry into the student’s death. “The director general of education has been told to conduct a departmental inquiry,” he said.