KOZHIKODE: Hours after the death of a 15-year-old who had suffered severe head injuries during a clash between school students, shocking chat details have surfaced showing that the accused had discussed the aftermath of the crime after the incident.
On Saturday, the police recovered more WhatsApp and Instagram chats of the students who allegedly attacked the victim, which showed that they were well aware of the gravity of the issue.
A voice message on Instagram, supposedly exchanged after the clash, says ‘even if one person dies in a group attack, it is not a big deal’, and that ‘the police will not file a case’. The police had earlier found that students had planned the clash by forming a group on WhatsApp.
Muhammed Shahabaz, a Class 10 student of MJ Higher Secondary School in Elettil Vattoli, suffered head injuries in the clash between students near a tuition centre in Thamarassery on Thursday. He died while under treatment at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital at 12.30am on Saturday.
Shahabaz’s postmortem showed that the cause of death was a severe fracture of the skull and brain injury caused by a weapon. Five students of GVHSS Thamarassery, who were taken into custody in the case, had reportedly told the police that Shahabaz was beaten with a nunchaku. Besides invoking the the Juvenile Justice Act and sections under BNS for gang attack and causing grievous hurt with weapons, the Thamarassery police have added murder charges in the case.
The recently surfaced social media chats supposedly took place after the attack. “If we have said that we will kill Shahbaz, we will do so... Go and look at his eyes, he has no eyes”, says one of the messages from the students. Another message says, “There is no problem if he dies in the group attack, the police will not take a case...They came to us to attack.”
Thamarassery student’s death: Child rights panel registers case suo motu
A dispute between the students of MJ HSS and GVHSS, Thamarassery, over a dance event at the farewell party for Class 10 students at the tuition centre on Sunday led to the attacks.
The planning and conspiracy behind the attack by the students have baffled even police. Following the dispute at the tuition centre, the students of the two schools mobilised gangs through WhatsApp groups and Instagram chats. “On Sunday, the staff at the tuition centre intervened in the dispute and calmed the situation. But the clashes on Thursday involved students from outside the tuition centre. Even Shahabaz is not our student,” said Prabeesh, the tuition centre proprietor.
According to the parents of Shahabaz, a friend came to his house and his son went out with him. He later came back home. However, his parents came to know about the incident only after they noticed him lying unconscious and took him to the hospital.
Meanwhile, there is growing suspicion that, besides children, adults were also involved in the attack. The police under the leadership of Inspector Sayooj Kumar are now investigating the role of the father and brother of a student studying at GVHSS, Thamarassery, in the attacks.
The five students taken into custody were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Saturday. They were shifted to the Observation Home in Vellimadukunnu after the board rejected their bail application. They will be given an opportunity to write the SSLC examination. The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had registered a case suo motu in Shahabaz’s death. Commission chairperson Manoj Kumar said drugs and violence in films are affecting children and that a campaign will be organised in this regard at the state level. He sought a report from the District Police Chief and the Child Welfare Committee Chairperson on the incident. An investigation is also underway in the incident under the leadership of Deputy Director of General Education C Manoj Kumar.