Panchkula school horror: CCTV shows boy, 8, hitting KG girl with brick 12 times

Panchkula. For about 90 seconds, CCTV footage shows a six-year-old kindergarten girl being slammed against a bench, kicked, dragged by her hair and struck on the head with a brick inside an empty classroom of a government school in Panchkula. No adult is seen stepping in.

The boy seen in the footage is an eight-year-old Class 3 student of the same school, police said. The girl is under treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh. Haryana Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda has set up a headquarters-level committee to probe the incident, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, October 28.

What the CCTV footage shows

The footage from the classroom camera shows the boy grabbing the girl and banging her head on a bench twice. He then pulls her to the floor by her hair and kicks her on the head and stomach.

When she tries to get up, he walks to another corner of the room, picks up a brick and throws it at her face. He then hits her on the head with it. The girl holds her head and cries.

The boy drags her by the hair again, presses his foot on her stomach and kicks her. He keeps hitting her head and face with the brick while she lies on the floor. Before leaving, he strikes her once more with the brick and kicks her on the head three times.

Reports based on the footage say she was hit on the head with the brick 12 times and kicked and punched in the face 19 times.

Family says she was lured upstairs

According to the family, the boy took the girl to the empty first-floor classroom by telling her that her father was waiting there. Her uncle said the boy had argued with her earlier.

Found by her father

The girl did not come home after school. The family came to know something was wrong when her auto driver could not find her. Her father rushed to the school.

There, the same boy told him that the girl was lying in a room upstairs, the family said. Her uncle said the father fainted when he saw his daughter covered in blood.

She was taken to a hospital in Panchkula and later referred to PGIMER. Her uncle said her condition has improved slightly, but the family is still in shock.

Family questions school’s watch

The family has questioned how the attack went unnoticed in a classroom whose CCTV feed, they say, is monitored from the principal’s office. The uncle claimed the principal’s duty ended at 3 pm, while the attack took place between 3 pm and 3.15 pm.

Had someone been watching, he said, “this incident would not have happened.”

He also alleged that due to a shortage of staff, children of two or three classes were often made to sit in one room, and that not enough teachers were present at the time. The school has not publicly responded to these allegations so far.

“If such incidents occur, no one will want to send their children to school,” he told ANI.

Boy undergoing medical assessment

DCP (Crime) Amrinder Singh confirmed that the boy is eight and the girl is six. The boy is undergoing a medical assessment, which is prescribed for children aged seven to 12.

Under Indian law, a child below seven cannot be held guilty of a crime. For a child between seven and 12, an act is not an offence if the child is not mature enough to understand what he did and its consequences. The medical report will help police decide the next step.

Station House Officer Yashdeep and investigating officer Pradeep Kumar said the police team reached the school as soon as they were informed. Police are collecting details from the school management and speaking to the boy’s parents to understand the circumstances behind the incident.

‘Hard to even watch’

Dhanda said the video was so disturbing that it was hard to watch in full. The committee’s report is expected by Saturday evening or Sunday morning, and action will be taken on its basis. Anyone found negligent will not be spared, he said.