Bhiwani: A 16-year-old Class X student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Haryana’s Bhiwani district was found hanging inside the school hostel late Saturday night, with his family alleging murder even as police said preliminary evidence pointed to suicide.The child had been studying at the residential school since Class VI.Kairu police outpost in-charge Rajesh Kumar said police reached the school soon after receiving information and called in a forensic team to examine the scene. “Prima facie, the case appears to be one of suicide. The student is suspected to have used a piece of cloth tied to the staircase railing to hang himself. However, the investigation is still in progress,” he said.Police said the postmortem was conducted by a medical board at Bhiwani Civil Hospital and samples collected from the spot have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Further action will depend on the postmortem report, forensic findings and other evidence, Kumar added.According to school authorities, the incident came to light around 1.30am when the hostel watchman and students alerted vice-principal Praveen Gupta. Staff found the teenager hanging and rushed him to the community health centre in Kairu before he was referred to Bhiwani Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.The deceased child’s mother, Reena, rejected the suicide theory, claiming her son had shown no signs of distress when she last spoke to him on Friday. She alleged she noticed injury marks on his neck and hands and demanded a fair investigation. “He was killed. Those responsible should face strict action,” she said.Vice-principal Gupta said the student had an injury on one hand but said only the police investigation would establish the exact circumstances of the death. He added that no behavioural issues involving the student had been reported and clarified that while CCTV cameras covered the school campus, none were installed inside hostel rooms to protect students’ privacy.
