8-Year-Old Boy Killed with a Rope at Maharashtra Tribal Hostel; Boys Aged 8 and 14 Held
Pune: 23-Year-Old BJ Medical Student Found Dead In Hostel Room
In a deeply distressing incident that has shaken the Bhokardan region of Maharashtra’s Jalna district, an eight-year-old boy was found dead inside a government-aided tribal residential school’s hostel. Authorities have detained two fellow minors — aged 8 and 14 — in connection with the child’s alleged murder following a heated quarrel during playtime.
According to preliminary findings, what began as a seemingly harmless argument among the children on Monday evening took a horrifying turn hours later. Around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, when most students were asleep, the two boys are suspected to have strangled the younger child using a rope.
The horrifying discovery was made by the hostel warden during the routine morning wake-up call at 5 a.m. While the other children began to stir, one child remained unresponsive. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Doctors reportedly noticed distinct strangulation marks around his neck, suggesting asphyxiation as the likely cause of death. The official postmortem report is still awaited.
The victim, a student of Standard II, had only recently joined the hostel two months ago. His family, farmers by occupation, reside in a nearby village in Partur tehsil. The incident has left them and the entire school community in utter shock.
Investigating officers revealed that during the initial questioning, another eight-year-old student was found with injury marks on his head. Upon further inquiry, he confessed that he and a 14-year-old schoolmate had committed the act of strangulation. The alleged attack took place while the victim was asleep in the dormitory following the night’s dinner.
District Superintendent of Police Ajaykumar Bansal confirmed that an FIR has been filed and all legal procedures are being followed under the Juvenile Justice Act. “We are treating this matter with the seriousness it demands,” Bansal stated. The two juveniles were presented before the Child Welfare Committee on Tuesday evening and have since been sent to a correctional facility.
The school, which serves as a government-aided English-medium residential institution for tribal children, has since come under scrutiny. Senior officers from the education department, child protection services, and the local administration have visited the site. A high-level inquiry has been initiated to examine the lapses that may have allowed such an incident to unfold unnoticed.
Meanwhile, the Child Welfare Committee has also taken formal cognizance of the tragedy. Psychological counselling is now being offered to the school’s students, many of whom are struggling to process the loss and trauma.
