Haryana school principal shot four times, she cried: Save me

Mangalore Today News Network

Haryana , Jan 22, 2018 : “Mujhe bachao, mujhe bachao (please save me)” were the words that school principal Ritu Chhabra kept repeating as she was being taken to hospital after a student of her school pumped four bullets into her in this Haryana town on Saturday afternoon.

 

A Class XII student, whom she had allegedly reprimanded a few days ago, shot her four times with a .32 bore gun in her office at the Swami Vivekanand Public School at Fountain Chowk here. As she was taken in an ambulance to the Swami Vivekanand Multi-Speciality Hospital, next door to the school, Ritu was conscious and kept asking to be saved, eyewitnesses said.

The bullets had pierced the 47-year-old teacher’s heart, abdomen and chest, and the doctors in the hospital could not save her.

Ritu, who had served in the school for 19 years, was cremated on Sunday morning. Her two sons had studied in the same school. Her elder son Ritesh, who is working in Kolkata after his BTech, flew down for the last rites. Her younger son is also doing a BTech course.

At the Chhabras’ one storeyed home in Old Model Town, the family and relatives are in shock. Ritu’s husband Rajesh Chhabra was unable to speak. “I had never imagined such a thing could happen to my mother,” Ritesh said.

On Sunday, a local court sent the Class XII student to two days’ police remand. The gun was a licensed weapon belonging to his father, a local financier and property dealer, who was sent to jail after being booked under the Arms Act for leaving his weapon lying around.

“During the questioning, the boy accepted that he has committed this crime…. The boy has so far has told us that the teacher had warned him that he will not be given a roll number slip and he won’t be allowed to appear for his practical exams as well for not attending classes regularly,” SHO Yamunagar police station (city) inspector Om Prakash said. The gun has been found.
yamunanagar school, school shooting, student kills principal, principal shot, Haryana, Haryana school principal killed, yamunanagar school shootout, Vivekananda School, class 12 student shot principal, Haryana news, Haryana school death, Indian express Swami Vivekanand Public School was locked after the incident. (Express photo by Sahil Walia)

At the boy’s one-storeyed home in the Old Hamida neighbourhood, a lock hung on the brown-and-silver gate. Neighbours said the boy’s mother had been taken away by her brother. The neighbourhood is in shock that the boy, who turned 18 just 10 days ago, could have committed such a crime.

Nirmal Singh, who lives next door, said the family was good natured. The boy’s father made regular donations to the neighbourhood temple. “Just ask anyone here about the family, you will not hear anything negative about them. It was such a nice family,” he said.

Other neighbours said the boy would “bow his head” before every elder. “He was probably upset after he was told by his teacher that he will not be able to sit in the upcoming Board exams because of low attendance. A few days back he met me and said he would work hard and would continue his studies in Canada. He said he was studying to qualify the IELTS exams,” said Aman, a businessman and neighbour.

The school management described the boy as an “average” student.

After the boy shot the principal and was fleeing, a school attendant caught him. The police said he fell down as he was running away and was injured in the face and head. SHO Om Parkash alleged that he tried to fire at the attendant too.

“He was not doing well in studies (but) there were no instructions from management to issue warnings to any student that they would be barred from writing the exam,” said Kamal Kamboj, the president Swami Vivekanand Education Society. The official mentioned that the boy seemed more interested in hanging around on his motorcycle. “The principal may have warned him at her own level as teachers always want to see their students excel. Sometimes teachers give a warning to put pressure on a student so that performance improves,” Kamboj said.



courtesy:IE