Class 10 Student Falls To Death In UP School; Father Alleges Rape, Murder

A 15-year-old died after she allegedly fell from the terrace of a private school in Ayodhya on Friday, said police. The father, however, has claimed that her daughter was gang-raped before being thrown off the terrace.

The police have filed a case against the school principal and two staff members, one being the sports teacher.

The Class 10 student was called in by the principal at 8:30 am despite there being no classes, alleged the girl's father.

"I was informed by the principal around 9:50 am that my child suffered injuries after falling from a swing," said the father.

"When I reached the school, I was told that my child was taken to a hospital. She had injury marks all over her body, which is not possible in case of a fall from a swing," the father added.  

"The post-mortem reveals that the injuries are due to fall from the building. The reports says that the cause of death is shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante mortem," said G Muniraj, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ayodhya.

The student was moved to another hospital and died during the treatment.

Surveillance footage shows that the girl had fallen from the terrace of the school building, contradicting the principal's statement.

"My crying daughter (at the hospital) told me that when she reached the school, the principal handed her over to the two men, one of them was the sports teacher. They then gang-raped her. And in order to hide the crime, they threw her off the terrace," the father claimed.

A case has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape.

"On Saturday afternoon, on the complaint of the family of the girl student, a case was registered against the school principal, school manager and a sports teacher for gangraping the minor girl, murdering her, erasing the evidence and hatching criminal conspiracy and also under the POCSO Act," Ayodhya Superintendent of Police (City) Madhuban Singh was quoted saying by news agency PTI.

Earlier today, the postmortem was conducted and the girl was cremated in presence of police. The girl's father performed the last rites.