Conflicting reports on boy who killed principal

KARNAL: A day after a Class-12 student allegedly shot dead his school principal in her office in Yamunanagar on Saturday, conflicting accounts about the 18-year-old have emerged.

The school management called him a spoilt brat while his neighbours vouch for his character.

The boy was arrested after he allegedly pumped four bullets into Ritu Chhabra (46), principal of Swami Vivekananda Public School, with his father’s licensed .32 bore revolver.

The boy, who turned 18 on January 10, has been charged with murder. His father, a financier, is a resident of Yamunanagar town’s Hamida locality.

Yamunanagar superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Kalia said the boy was academically poor.

“No doubt, he was a pampered son of a businessman, but he was affable and polite. There might be something that drove him to take this extreme step,” said one of the family’s neighbours.

“How could he murder his principal? It is unbelievable and shocking,” said Ravi Kumar, a neighbour. “He is a very good boy and always greeted his elders by touching their feet. He used to go to the temple everyday,” said Vikram Pandit, another neighbour.

The police, on Sunday, produced the boy and his father in the district court. While the student was sent to two-day police remand, his father, who was booked under the Arms Act, was sent to two-day police custody.

Kamal Kamboj, president of Swami Vivekanand Society that runs the school, said, “There were some issues with the boy. First, he used to come on a bike, against school rules and he was scolded for this. Another was about his low attendance and also he never took his teachers and studies seriously.”

Kamboj added, “Our staff said he never cared what the teachers would say...”

A school staff member said, “The principal had also warned him against bringing mobile phone to the school.”

PRINCIPAL CREMATED

Ritu Chhabra was cremated by her family members on Sunday morning. Her husband Rajesh Chhabra said the incident has shaken his family. Ritu taught economics in the school for the past 17 years and was promoted as principal in June 2014.