Weeks after suicide by principal,another body dug up in compound of West Delhi school

According to the police,the body found on Sunday was that of one Dinesh,25,who lived in Raj Nagar area of Palam,Southwest Delhi. The victim,according to a senior officer,had gone missing on March 20 — two days before principal Bhardwaj was found hanging from the ceiling fan in a classroom.

Bimla Devi,who opens the school’s gates for the students in the morning and closes them after they leave in the afternoon,said Bhardwaj — “he was quiet man who mostly kept to himself” — had asked her son Joginder to dig a hole in the school’s small open area on March 17. “He (Bhardwaj) said he wanted to bury some cancer medicines that belonged to his father,” Bimla Devi,who lives near the school in Baprola,said on Monday.

“The pit had been filled up when I came to the school two days later.”

Savita Manipandey,a teacher at the school,told Newsline,“Bhardwaj’s family was running the school after his death on March 22.”

On Sunday,Joginder said,Bhardwaj’s family members asked him to dig up the hole. “They said they wanted to examine the newly filled up area,” Joginder said,“but after I started digging a little bit,I saw a human foot sticking out of the dirt.”

Police sources said the body bore signs of injuries on the head and the victim was probably hit by a blunt weapon. Rope marks were also found on the neck.

An FIR was registered on Monday against unknown persons. The police are probing whether the school principal had any role in Dinesh’s murder,a source said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal said it is too early to say whether Bhardwaj knew Dinesh,as investigations have just started.

Bhardwaj’s family was not available for comments.

(The reporters are students of EXIMS)