'Strangled, choked': Another boy who narrowly escaped Hathras school's unsuccessful murder attempt

An eight-year-old boy survived a near-fatal incident at a private school in Hathras just days before the tragic murder of another child under similar circumstances. The brutal incident took place on the evening of September 6 when the boy's family received a distressing call from the school, claiming he was suffering from stomach pain.

Upon arrival, the boy’s grandfather, Surendra, a retired sub-inspector with the Uttar Pradesh Police, described the unsettling scene. “I noticed marks on his neck, and his eyes were red,” he recounted. The child, whose identity has been withheld for safety reasons, informed family members that Bhagat, the father of the school’s manager, had attempted to suffocate him by pinching his nose and choking him.

“It was chaos. When the noise attracted attention, people came rushing in, and I managed to escape,” the boy recounted, revealing the terrifying details of his close call.

Just days later, tragedy struck again as a second child, a class 2 student, was murdered on September 22 within the same school. Investigating authorities have indicated that the motive for this shocking crime was to confer “glory and fame” upon the school. The boy became the victim of a suspected human sacrifice ritual, allegedly carried out by the owners of his school as part of a ‘black magic’ ritual.

Reports suggest that three individuals strangled the student in his hostel room. The school's owner, whose father is believed to have been involved in occult practices, is suspected of orchestrating what has been described as a ‘human sacrifice.'

Hathras Superintendent of Police, Nipun Aggarwal, confirmed that five individuals connected to the murder have been apprehended. “We have arrested five people,” Aggarwal stated. “The child was strangled with the intent of bringing prosperity to the school and securing its future.”