The police have stated that the pistol did not have any cartridges and the accused had brought it to school only to show his friends. Nevertheless the actual intent is being investigated.
An 18-year-old student of Class 10, studying in a school in Jharsa village near Gurgaon, was caught carrying a country-made pistol in the school premises on Tuesday. “His friend, who had brought the gun from Mathura and handed it to him, has also been arrested,” a police officer informed our City Spidey correspondent on Wednesday.
A case was registered against the accused under Section 24, 25 and 54 of the Arms Act, at a local police station. Initially, the police had assumed that the accused was a minor. His actual age was discovered when they found that he had failed in the examinations, twice.
The accused Mohnish, is a resident of Jharsa village. On the other hand, Ashish Sharma, the friend who had handed him the gun, is 21 years old and a resident of Mathura. Sharma told the police that he had found the gun in his village. “More specifically he told us that it had been lying in a room that had a water pump machine,” said a police officer.
Surender Kumar, head constable, who is investigating the case, said, “Ashish told us that he wanted to sell the gun but could not find any buyer. However, three months ago he had handed the firearm to Mohnish.” The matter came to light when the principal of the Marumal Senior Secondary School directed teachers to check all the bags of the students for Holi powders. During the checking it was found that Mohnish’s schoolbag was missing, which immediately caused suspicion.
“When the principal sternly inquired about the bag, Mohnish got a little scared and led her to his scooty where it was hidden. The country made pistol, concealed in a polythene bag was inside,” said Kumar.
The police however said that the pistol did not have any cartridges and the accused had brought it to school only to show his friends. “He just wanted to impress his friends. He does not have a criminal record. Nevertheless we are investigating the intent,” Kumar added.
This case might be much more serious than it appears now. Given the recent spate of violent incidents that have rocked private schools of Gurgaon, it is probably unwise to dismiss it as just another incident of indiscipline.
On January 20, a class 12 student of Swami Vivekananda Public School, Yamunanagar had allegedly shot the principal with his father’s licensed revolver. The brutal murder of the class 2 student of Ryan International School (last September) can never be forgotten. Earlier this month, a student of another prominent school had threatened to rape his teacher and her daughter. This threat had been posted online.