VADODARA, July 19: The last rites of Sharda Phulji Bhikabhai Rathwa, a Standard IX student who died after being stabbed by a school fellow in Chhotaudepur on Saturday, were performed amidst heavy police bandobast in Dungar village of Kwant taluka this evening.The incident reportedly occurred after Sharda thwarted the advances of a Standard X student. The boy stabbed her repeatedly in the precincts of the Adarsh Nivasi School at Vasedi mohalla, and turned himself in after the girl succumbed to her injuries at the SSG Hospital on Sunday evening. He has since been sent to judicial sub-custody in the Chhotaudepur sub-jail, according to local PSO Abhaysinh.Tension ran high in Dungar village as news of the incident filtered in as the boy and girl involved belong to the Rathwa and Wanakar clans - traditional rivals - respectively, with angry Rathwas ransacking the house of the accused's kin. The area is dominated by Rathwas.``The police presence was heavy because the two clans have a history of rivalry'', said Deputy Superintendent of Police (HQ) M V Bhuria. ``A police party will be deployed in the village to squash any chances of a clash between the two peoples.''Asked why no arrests had been made in connection with Sunday's violence, Bhuria said, ``The accused belonged to the deceased's clan. Their arrest would have aggravated the situation, though we have registered cases under IPC Sections 143, 147, 148 and 149. Besides, we were waiting for the peaceful completion of the last rites.'' The school attended by the accused and his victim is one of the four residential educational institutions run by the Gujarat Tribal Welfare Department. While the Chhotaudepur and Pavi Jetpur schools are co-educational, the one at Nasvadi is exclusively for boys and the one at Akota is for girls.GTWD vigilance officer K P Dabhi, when contacted, said he had already launched an investigation into the incident. When asked how the boy could have procured a knife and kept it in the hostel, he said the inquiry would deal with all these angles.
