Beaten up by school seniors after he bumped into them, 12-year-old boy dies a week later

Saraswat, a Class 6 student at a Delhi government school in North Delhi, died a week after he was allegedly thrashed and assaulted by senior boys in his school after he accidentally hit them while playing with his friends during recess.

“He loved running and playing slide games with his friends. He accidentally hit a senior while sliding his way back to the classroom. The senior kid called others and they beat him up. My son was brutally assaulted and thrown to the ground,” said Sharma.

“Kintan told us the boys got very angry…When he reached home, he was crying and limping. When his condition deteriorated, we rushed him to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital,” Sharma added.

Sharma also holds “negligence” by doctors and staff at the hospital responsible for Kintan’s death. “The staff told us the doctors (orthopaedic specialists) were on leave and asked us to come back after 2-3 days…We then took him to a doctor in Rohini who asked us to get a few other medicines. When Kintan took those, his condition further deteriorated. On January 19-20, we had to rush him to Deep Chand Bandhu again because he had fainted. He died later in the night…It all happened because of the negligence of doctors,” said the father.

Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Vatsala Aggarwal said, “The patient had first come on January 11 and upon seeing his condition, which was not severe at the time, he was attended to at the OPD. His X-ray was taken and a painkiller was given to him. He was asked to come back a few days later but he did not do so and came directly on January 20. He reached the hospital at a very critical stage with a high fever, vomiting and a high BP. Physicians, paediatricians and orthopaedic doctors saw him but the child could not be revived.”

Kintan’s family members said they also visited the school and requested the principal and the class teacher to investigate the matter.

‘Principal could have called police…’: Father

“I have been there at least thrice in the last 10 days. Isn’t it their responsibility to book the accused for hurting my son? My son never got into any fights. He told us those boys were seniors and were stronger. The principal could have called the police or at least suspended the boys…It’s been three days since he died. We are suffering…,” said Sharma.

The school authorities could not be contacted for comment.

Sharma remembers Kintan – his older child – as someone who loved making video reels and would often use his mother’s Instagram account to post his photos and videos. “He was inspired by Bollywood movie Shershaah and wanted to join the Indian Army,” said Sharma.

DCP (North) Manoj Kumar Meena confirmed the incident and said the police are awaiting a postmortem report before initiating legal action.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government said the incident took place outside the school campus. “(Our) heart goes out to the bereaving family, who lost their child in such a tragic incident. A prompt inquiry has been ordered already in the matter…,” it said in a statement.