Family protests lynching of Bihar school director

A day after the director of a private school was lynched following the recovery of the bodies of two students in Nalanda district, hundreds of protesters and family members of the deceased blocked a road and disrupted rail traffic on Monday, demanding a CBI investigation.

The bodies of Ravi Kumar and Sagar Kumar of Devendra Public School at Nirpur village were recovered from a nearby canal. School director Devendra Prasad Sinha was beaten to death by a mob from the village, blaming him and the school authorities for the students’ death.

Post-mortem report

The post-mortem report said the students died of asphyxiation, and the bodies had no injury marks. “The asphyxiation might have been due to drowning,” Siddhartha Jain, Superintendent of Police, Nalanda, said.

After the post-mortem report became public, the family members, relatives and villagers of Sinha blocked the main Hilsa-Fatuha road for several hours. They disrupted movement of trains and threw stones at the police.

“There was a conspiracy behind my father’s murder. The school principal, along with the local police, had conspired to eliminate my father and we demand a CBI inquiry into the incident,” said Swarlata Kiran, daughter of Sinha. His brother Sunil Kumar blamed the local police officials and demanded a CBI investigation.

The police had to use mild force to disperse the protesters and ensure free movement of traffic.

Director-General of Police (Patna Range) Shalin was deputed to Nalanda for an investigation. The officer in charge of the Nalanda police station, Sunil Kumar Nirjhar, has been suspended.

Three held

Police officials said three persons had been arrested and eight others identified as accused in the lynching case.

“Through video footage of local news channels, we have identified eight persons attacking the school director,” Sunil Kumar, Additional Director-General of Police (Headquarters), said.

Courtesy: PTI