Death in scool: Family alleges foul play

ROHTAK: The family members of a Class XI student, who was found dead at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in the village of Jhajjar district on January 16 night, have alleged that he was murdered. Deceased Priyam Dhankhar (15) was a resident of Karontha village.
The victim’s father Parminder Dhankhar said Priyam, had complained of harassment from some of the hostellers before the winter vacation, and was shifted to a new hostel building.“My relative had dropped him back to school on January 16 around 5pm after the winter break, and he was in a healthy state of mind, but we were shocked to hear about the tragic incident on the same night,” said Parminder, suspecting foul play. He said when they rushed to the Jhajjar Civil Hospital after getting intimation from the school, they saw injury marks on his ear, and both his legs were fractured.
Questioning the role of the school authorities, the victim’s father said they tried to bluff them by saying he might have climbed on the roof and accidentally slipped. The family members alleged that some hostellers reported them that they saw some boys fighting with him. “There were bruises on my son’s back, and there was also a broken brick lying on the roof, but school authorities were delivering vague statements,” he said.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family, along with several other residents of the village on Wednesday met the Jhajjar superintendent of police to seek justice. Sources said four of the hostel residents, who were under suspicion, had changed their statements before the police twice. “Previously, they said Priyam’s body was spotted by them outside the hostel. On Wednesday, they claimed he was killed in a road accident when they were out for dinner, and they dragged his body and placed it outside the hostel,” added sources.
School principal Ombir said they were shocked over the episode. Police said they had registered a case against the school authorities of negligence and were probing the matter.