Boy fires at'friend'In school - Two guns in student's bag

The seized firearms and the schoolbag at Sakchi police station in Jamshedpur on Wednesday.
 (Animesh Sengupta)

KUMUD JENAMANI, TT, Jamshedpur, June 22: A Class XI student shot and wounded his "friend" seated two rows ahead of him in class this morning, in what appears to be an accident, throwing up disturbing questions about how a student could bring in firearms in his schoolbag.

The 17-year-old accused, a student of science at ICSE-affiliated Dayanand Public School in Sakchi, was arrested soon after the incident that took place around 7.30am. Not one, but two firearms were found in his schoolbag.

The victim, Sudhanshu Kumar Gupta, has been admitted to the high dependency unit of Tata Main Hospital (TMH) with a bullet lodged behind his lungs. A surgery was due later in the evening to remove the bullet.

While police sealed classroom 21 where 17-year-old Sudhanshu was shot at by his "very good friend", the Dayanand management decided against suspending classes. The school got over as usual at 1.30pm.

According to Dayanand principal Swarna Mishra, the "unfortunate incident" took place minutes before the assembly.

"The two Class XI students were in room 21 on the first floor when everyone heard something like a gunshot. Class teacher Abhishek Nandi rushed to the classroom to see Sudhanshu slump on the desk bleeding and the other student sprint away. Nandi raised an alarm," Mishra said.

The accused student had already left the campus by then, but guard Gyan Singh chased and caught him. "We checked his schoolbag and were shocked to find two guns. We had no choice, but to inform Sakchi police. Parents of both students were informed too," the principal said.

Mishra added that the school had a system of checking schoolbags randomly for mobile phones, which are not permitted on campus. "We conduct surprise inspections now and then. But, we would have never thought that a senior student would carry firearms in his bag. We are shocked beyond words."

Located in the heart of the steel city, Dayanand Public School is affiliated to ICSE and run by Arya Samaj, a philanthropic outfit. The co-ed school has over 2,000 students from nursery to Class XII.

Sakchi thana OC Anjani Kumar Tiwary said of the two firearms found in the student's bag, one was a katta - a countrymade, single-shot weapon - and the other a 7.65mm pistol. "The shot was fired from the 7.65mm bore. In the magazine of the pistol, there were three bullets left," he said.

Tiwary maintained they were yet to establish whether the accused had intentionally fired the shot or if it was an accident. "We have spoken to both students. The accused, whose father is a security guard, has claimed accidental firing. Also, there seems to be no clear motive of deliberate shooting. We are trying to find out why the student brought the firearms to school and from whom he procured them," the officer added.

Devendra Kumar Gupta, father of the victim and a lawyer at Jamshedpur civil courts, however said he believed that Sudhanshu was shot at deliberately by his classmate, who sits two rows behind him. "I spoke to my son in hospital. He said his classmate shot him. My son, however, could not say why," Gupta said.

School principal Mishra subscribed to the accident theory. "The accused student brought the firearms to the classroom and was showing Sudhanshu the pistol when it went off. The boys are residents of Mango and very good friends," she said.

At TMH, general manager G. Ramdas said the injured student was critical. "The bullet entered through his left armpit and got lodged behind the lungs. We have conducted a CT scan to locate the bullet. The report has arrived and the patient will soon be readied for OT. The bullet will be removed by tonight," he added.