Bihar Teen, Caught Smoking, Thrashed With Belt By School Teachers. He Died

A 15-year-old boy in Bihar died after allegedly being brutally thrashed by his teachers, who caught him smoking in public. 

Bajrangi Kumar from East Champaran district of Bihar was in the Madhuban area to get his mother's mobile phone back from a repairing shop, and took a smoke break along with his friends under the Hardiya bridge on his way back home at around 11:30 in the morning on Saturday, his relatives said.

Vijay Kumar Yadav, the Chairman of the private residential school "Madhuban Rising Star Prep School", where Bajrangi was a class 10 student, spotted him smoking and got furious. A teacher at the school, who is the boy's relative, was also accompanying the Chairman. The Chairman then called the boy's father, and then dragged him to the school compound where he, along with other teachers, beat him up mercilessly, Bajrangi's mother and sister have alleged. The teachers stripped the boy and hit him with belts, they said.

When Bajrangi fell unconscious, he was rushed to a private nursing home in Madhuban but was referred to Muzaffarpur because of the seriousness of the case. He died there during treatment. Relatives say there were deep injuries on Bajrangi's neck and arms. His private parts were also bleeding, they alleged.

The school's chairman has contested the family's claims, saying the boy wasn't beaten up but consumed poison, fearing his family would get to know about him being caught smoking. He was then rushed to Muzaffarpur but didn't survive, he has said,

Bajrangi got admission into the school's hostel two months back, and was back home for summer holidays.

Chaos ensued in the boy's family after the news of his death. Bajrangi's mother, Usmila Devi, was inconsolable and described in detail how the tragic news was suddenly broken to her.

Bajrangi's father, Hari Kishore Rai, had left for Punjab five days back to work as a labourer. 

Police said the boy's body has been sent to Motihari for an autopsy, and the school is being sealed.