Haryana: Livid at being reprimanded, class 12 student shoots dead school principal in Yamunanagar

A class 12 student on Saturday allegedly killed his school principal by firing four shots with a .32 bore gun in Haryana’s Yamunanagar, news agency PTI reported. “The accused student fired four shots at Swami Vivekanand School principal Ritu Chhabra, who was in her office, with a .32 bore gun and critically injured her,” the police said. The student, police sources said, was upset over being rusticated from the school. “47-year-old Chhabra  was rushed to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries,” PTI quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Desh Raj as saying. The four bullets hit her in the chest, stomach and shoulder, Yamunanagar Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kalia told PTI. The SP said, “After shooting the school principal, the 18-year-old commerce student tried to flee. However, a couple of parents, who were present for the parents-teachers meet in the school premises, caught hold him of with the help of locals.” During preliminary investigation, the accused student told the police that he was upset with the school principal for allegedly reprimanding him a couple of times. “He had a grudge against the school principal for reprimanding him few times in front of his class mates on the complaint of teachers,” the SP said adding that he was not attending school for the past few days. The SP said the police were also investigating whether the accused was taking drugs. “He was supposed to attend his tutions today. But rather than going to tutions, he went to the school,” the officer said. As he was a school student, he was allowed to meet the school principal, SP Kalia said. “He talked to the Principal for some time and then came out. He then again entered the principal’s room and opened fire at her with the revolver,” said the SP. During investigation, it came to light that the student stole his father’s licensed revolver by breaking the wooden Almirah at his home. He took the revolver without the knowledge of his parents, Kalia said. The accused student’s father is a financier and a landlord in Yamunanagar, he said. The SP said, “He has confessed to his crime and weapon has also been recovered. He will be presented before the court the tomorrow.” The accused student has been booked for murder under section 302 of the IPC, said the police. The incident happened between 11:30 am and 12 noon and and triggered panic and horror among the school staff, teachers and students. (With input from Agencies)