Son of Delhi techie killed at Hathras school; director drives around with child’s body in bid to cover up crime

AGRA: A student studying in class 2, the son of a man working as a software engineer in a private firm in Delhi, was found strangled to death in the hostel of DL Public School in Hathras, police said on Tuesday.

A senior officer added, "The child was found dead on his hostel bed by a staff on Monday morning and the school director instead of reporting the matter took the body in his car to mislead the grieving family." He drove around the region for a few hours in an attempt to cover up the crime, police said.

The incident, which took place at Rasgawan under Sahpau limits, came to light on Monday when the boy's family, residents of Tursen in Hathras, were informed by someone in the school that "the child is unwell". Upon reaching the school, the kin found that its director, Dinesh Baghel, had fled with the child in his car.

The family immediately alerted police, who launched a manhunt for Baghel. Cops later detained the director and after a brief search found the child's body inside the vehicle.

They then sent the body for an autopsy, and the report confirmed that "the boy had died some time on Sunday night due to strangulation". A case under BNS section 103 (1) (murder) was subsequently registered against Baghel and five unnamed persons.

Sahpau SHO, Manish Chikara, said, "The main suspect is being questioned to uncover the motive behind the boy's murder. We will disclose more details once the investigation is complete."

The boy's father, Krishan Kushwaha, told TOI, "I received a phone call at 5am on Monday that my son is ill and being taken to a hospital in Aligarh. There were injury marks on his neck. I'm sure my son was murdered."

In the police complaint, the father said, "When we met Baghel he was under the influence of alcohol. He said that he and his 4-5 accomplices had strangled my son to death. We're requesting police to get the details of the case..."

DL Public School has around 600 students. The hostel, where the crime allegedly took place, houses kids from Classes 1 to 5.