Class 9 student stabbed to death in Vadodara school

AHMEDABAD: A SCHOOLBAG FULL OF SHARP WEAPONS AND A BOTTLE FILLED WITH CHILLI POWDERMIXED WATER WAS RECOVERED FROM A TEMPLE NEXT TO THE SCHOOL

A Class 9 student was stabbed to death in the toilet of his school in Vadodara, allegedly by a senior schoolmate, on Friday.

“The body of 14-year-old Dev Tadvi was found from the first floor toilet in Bhartiya Vidhyalay in Beranpura with multiple wounds all over the body inflicted with sharp weapons,’’ said a police officer.

The murder may have been premeditated, said the police, who recovered a schoolbag full of sharp weapons and a bottle filled with water that had been mixed with chilli powder from the terrace of a temple adjacent to the school.

“The police have apprehended four students and interrogation is on,” Vadodara commissioner of police, Manoj Shahishar, said. “While it is clear that one of them, who is a Class 10 student, committed the murder, one of the other three might have assisted him.”

Preliminary investigation revealed Tadvi and other boys from the school were at odds over some dispute over the past couple of days. The four students are being questioned separately.

The school bag, which belongs to the murder suspect, contained three knives of different sizes and the bottle filled with chilli powder water, the police officer said. Another knife, found near the body, was 12 inches long.

“Tadvi had taken admission in to the school only from this academic year, which began a fortnight back,” said Avni Barot, an administrator at the school. “Secondary classes start at noon. But Tadvi and other accused had arrived at the school early when sessions for primary standards were on. Around 11.50, a group of primary students informed some teachers about Tadvi lying in a pool of blood. He breathed his last before an ambulance could reach.’’