Youth stabs girl in classroom & tries to commit suicide

TT, July 7: A schoolgirl was today stabbed multiple times inside her classroom in Jalpaiguri by a college youth who also attacked a classmate, who rushed to the rescue, before turning the knife on himself.

The boy and the Class XI schoolgirl have been taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri and both were in a critical condition, said hospital sources.

The classmate who got injured, too, is also in a hospital in Dhupguri.

According to local people, Jitendra Sha, a first-year under-graduate student of Dhupguri College, was in a relationship with the girl and made an attempt on her life on the suspicion that she was in a relationship with another youth.

Jitendra, 20, entered the girl’s classroom, with a dagger in his hand and carrying a bottle, the contents of which are yet to be determined.

He entered the school around 10am, before classes had started.

“The school was about to start then. We were scared to see a youth with a dagger and within minutes, he went to the row where the girl was sitting in the classroom. He dragged the girl out of her seat and stabbed her twice in her abdomen,” said a classmate of the girl.

“Sushanta Sarkar, one of our classmates, tried to stop the youth from attacking the girl, but he was also struck on the hand with the dagger by the attacker,” the student said.

While attacking the girl’s classmate, Jitendra dropped the bottle he was holding to the floor as Sushanta tried to stop him.

Jitendra then stabbed himself in the abdomen three times and collapsed on the floor.

Teachers rushed to the classroom and took all the three to Dhupguri Block Hospital.

Soon, Jitendra and the girl were shifted to the Jalpaiguri district hospital from where they were taken to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.

Classes were stopped today after the attack.

Police have not said anything about how the girl and Jitendra came to know each other.

The families of the youth and the schoolgirl have also refused to speak.

The sources said Sushanta was out of danger and was likely to be discharged tomorrow.

Dhupguri is 85km from Siliguri.

According to some residents and a few classmates, Jitendra and the girl were in a relationship for over six months. “Recently, Jitendra came to know that the girl had developed a relationship with another youth and became vengeful,” said a resident.

Jitendra’s house is close to the school, while the girl resides elsewhere.

Police said they had received complaints from the families of both the girl and the college student.

“The youth has suffered injuries after attacking the girl. Both of them are under treatment now. We are aware of the local people’s resentment against the school authorities and are monitoring the situation. Families of both the girl and the youth have filed complaints. We are investigating the case,” said Kunal Agarwal, the superintendent of police of Jalpaiguri.

As word spread that a youth had attacked a girl at the co-ed school, guardians and local people gathered in front of the institute.

Along with the students, they shouted slogans against the school authorities and questioned the security of the school.

“How can a youth enter a classroom and stab a girl during school hours? It was a sheer lapse on the part of the school authorities who have no concern for the security of our children,” said Sukanta Roy, a guardian.

The demonstration continued and a section of the protesters locked the school gate, with the teachers still inside. Another group walked up to NH31D, close to the school, and put up a blockade, demanding the arrest of Jitendra.

The demonstration and the blockade were lifted after one-and-a-half hours when police arrived and intervened.

The government-aided school has Classes I to XII. The sources said the school had no security guards at the gate when Jitendra walked in. Bhagirath Roy, the headmaster, said: “We are clueless as to how an outsider, who is a college student, entered the classroom and stabbed one of our girl students. The school’s managing committee will soon meet and discuss steps needed to be taken to prevent such incidents in future.”