5-year-old boy found dead in drain inside Patna school; mob sets building on fire

On Thursday, the child left for school at 6 am. After additional school coaching, he was to return home by 2 pm. When he did not return home by 3 pm, his parents and relatives began searching for him. At around 7 pm, the parents approached the police.

After CCTV footage from the school showed the boy going in one direction and not returning, the school administration started a search and found his body in a sewage drain near a classroom. Quoting some students, the police said the boy had fainted after falling from a slide. “But rather than taking him to hospital, some people from school administration assumed that the boy was dead and put his body in a drain near a classroom,” Kumar’s parents alleged in the police complaint.

The school management has yet to issue a statement.

On Friday morning, about 50 people gathered and torched a portion of the school. “We have lodged a murder case. We have so far detained three people and will take action against them after interrogating them. We are also filing a second FIR against locals for arson and causing breach of law and order,” Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Mishra said.