Kanpur, Apr 24 (PTI) An 11-year-old boy was found dead with multiple injury marks after allegedly being tortured at a residential gurukul in Lucknow, police said on Friday.
Two persons, including the gurukul operator Saurabh Mishra, 27, and his associate Harshita Soni, 23, have been arrested on Thursday on the charges of murder and destruction of evidence, they said.
On April 15, Divyansh Dwivedi alias Deepu, had been admitted to Ramanuj Bhagwat Ved Vidyapeeth Gurukul in Lucknow’s Alamnagar for free Vedic education, and on Wednesday, the family was informed that the boy had allegedly fallen from a staircase, police said.
According to the police, before the family could reach Lucknow, another person associated with the gurukul allegedly brought the body to their village in Maharajpur here and abandoned it near their house before fleeing.
Family members alleged that the child had been subjected to brutal physical abuse. “There were dozens of injury marks, some resembling burn wounds. It appeared he was tortured,” a relative said.
Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal said a case has been registered at Maharajpur police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation was launched.
Preliminary findings suggest the gurukul was being run from a three-storey house in Lucknow, where the boy had been staying for about a week, he said.
During questioning, the main accused allegedly admitted to beating the child over the past few days and confining him in a poorly ventilated room without a fan.
“We believe the child’s condition worsened due to assault and extreme heat,” Lal told PTI.
Police said the accused initially tried to get the boy admitted to a local nursing home in Lucknow, but it refused. They then transported him to Kanpur, where doctors at LLR Hospital also declined admission, officials added.
The accused later abandoned the body near the boy’s residence and fled, police said, adding that teams were dispatched to Lucknow, leading to the arrests.
Chakeri Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhishek Pandey said Saurabh Mishra has been booked under Section 103(1) (murder) of the BNS, while Harshita Soni faces charges under Sections 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 3(5) (common intention). They will be produced before a court on Friday.
The incident sparked protests in the village, with family members initially refusing to perform the last rites and demanding strict action and compensation.
The situation eased after a visit by Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, following which the cremation was conducted at Dyodhi Ghat. Police said further investigation is underway. PTI COR KIS SHS SHS SHS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.