Murder of Hathras schoolboy: long before he opened the school, the main accused was a healer

Later, when the school was operational, he mysteriously kept a room for himself in the rear part of the school compound, villagers said.

As villagers and police talked about Jasodhan Singh, one of the arrested men and father of the school principal, grief, shocked silence and anxiety about their children’s future bound the villages of Rasgawan together and Tursen by a common thread. DL Public School, where the boy was a class 2 student and lived in the hostel, is located in Rasgawan while his home is in Tursen.

“Jasodhan Singh suffered from paralysis seven years ago. Before that, he treated the villagers who came to him. He was known as ‘Bhagat’, a term commonly associated with those who cure supernatural illnesses or have no scientific basis in medical science,” said a villager.

“We have evidence that Jasodhan Singh was also indulging in occult practices in the past and was also the mastermind behind this case, with his son, the principal and teachers colluding to leave the child dead,” it said. said Hathra Police Commissioner Nipun Agarwal.

Agarwal stood by his claim that the police had settled the case, accusing the accused of carrying out occult practices for the sake of the school and his family.

“After the initial FIR, another case was registered on an FIR by Khand Siksha Adhikari for violation of norms by the school management,” he said.

“Yes, there was a failed attempt on September 6 when another student residing in the hostel was targeted, but he was lucky to escape,” the Hathras SP said.

“In case the need arises, we will take the accused into custody to make the case strong,” Agarwal said.

The boy’s murder was committed on the night of September 22, but was revealed by the Hathras police on September 27 during the arrest of five of the accused, including school principal Dinesh Lal Baghel, his father and alleged occult practitioner Jasodhan Singh, the school principal Laxman Singh, besides two teachers Veer Pal alias Veeru and Ram Pal Solanki.

Meanwhile, the silence in the villages was broken by a convoy of cars when the chairman of the State Commission for Child Rights and two members of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights are arrived there with senior shiksha adhikari Swati Bharti and Hathra Additional Superintendent of Police AK Singh.

All the doors of the DL Public School were locked on Saturday, rendering the premises vacant, unlike the scene a week ago, when nearly 700 students, including two dozen boarders, were present.

FOR PARENTS, EMOTIONS ARE HIGH

Shri Krishna Kushwaha, father of the murdered boy, fell at the feet of Uttar Pradesh State Child Welfare Commission Chairman Devendra Sharma, who arrived at his residence along with two Commission members on Saturday national authority for the protection of the rights of the child.

Having lost their only son, Sri Krishna and his wife are at a loss for words. Their four-year-old daughter studies at the DL public school as a day student. A kindergarten student, she joined the school this year.

“I want justice to be done and the culprits to be hanged in public and their school bulldozed. The police have done their job so far, but we are really disappointed with the Ministry of Education, who seemed to be waiting for a tragedy to occur before taking action. He has now closed the school and filed a complaint for violation of norms, including that of a hostel being run without permission,” the child’s father said.

Uttar Pradesh State Child Welfare Commission Chairman Devendra Sharma, on his part, assured all support and said that an investigation would be undertaken to identify all the culprits and that it would not There would be no injustice to the family who lost their child in such an unfortunate manner.

Having no idea about the children’s future

Rasgawan village has around 2,200 voters and around 200 to 225 children are students at DL Government School. The population of the village consists of Thakurs, Jatavs and others, including Baghels, in almost equal numbers.

“We now have no idea what will happen to the educational future of our children, who were students at the school, which is now locked down. I had paid ₹10,000 for 6 months of expenses for my three grandchildren a week ago. Now I have to make efforts to save my grandchildren’s school year,” said Bhajan Lal, a resident of Rasgawan.

“We are in shock and our children are now afraid to go to school,” said another villager, who also wonders about the future of the 700 students at the school, closed during the middle of the session.

“The school was established five years ago as an English-medium institution, but was closed due to the lockdown. It became functional again after the pandemic and grew with students even coming from other districts like Mathura. But most of the students come from nearby villages and come in school vans,” said Ajay Baghel, a villager.

STUDENT OF CLASS 2 NOT THE FIRST

A nine-year-old boy, who is cycling in the nearby village of Behardoi, turns back when his grandfather calls him and stands in front of the HT reporter. He recounts what happened to him on September 6.

“I ate on the evening of September 6 and fell asleep, but was shocked to find ‘uncle’ (Jasodhan Singh) holding my neck and strangling me until I managed to scream at the ‘help. A teacher and other students in the hostel rushed in and ‘uncle’ let go of him,” the nine-year-old said.

“The child’s father received a call that his son was suffering from epilepsy. Dinesh Baghel came in a car and took the child’s parents and grandmother and brought back the child who stayed at home for days together because he was afraid to go back (to school). He had gone to school two days before the incident and was there when a similar attempt was made on the Class 2 student,” the nine-year-old boy’s uncle said.

FAMILY RESORTS IN DEFENSE OF THE SCHOOL OWNER

A two-story house in the middle of Rasagawan village belongs to the Baghel family who ran the school.

The family patriarch, Dori Lal, 90, lies on a cot on the ground floor. His son Jasodan Singh, 65, and grandson Dinesh Baghel, 44, are innocent, said Dori Lal, who has lived in Rasgawan since birth.

After the arrest of Jasodhan and Dinesh, the remaining family members residing in the house are mostly women.

Vineeta Baghel, Dinesh’s sister, said: “There was someone who was jealous or hostile to our family and conspired and caused the school to be closed. »