Stray Bullet Incident: Police Suspect Hand Of School Insider

INVESTIGATIONS INTO the suspected gunshot wound sustained by Angad Chabbra at the Bal Bharti school yesterday morning have thrown up two distinct possibilities.

Backed by eyewitnesses accounts and on-the-spot inspections, the police have zeroed in on the theory that it was handiwork of either an insider while being in the school itself or someone from across the boundary wall from the India Habitat Centre side.

According to eyewitnesses, Angad reportedly was standing facing the playground portion at the school when he was struck. Assuming that the bullet came from this direction, the police say, the distance travelled by the bullet could range from anywhere between 30 to a 100 yards, given the size of the field. This strengthens the possibility of an insider having accidentally let go off a round from the vicinity of this area.

 

An eyewitness said yesterday that when Angad was struck, he had heard a small pop sound that came from the direction of the canteen. But they also specified that the bullet may have come from across the boundary wall on the side of IHC where someone may have been using a weapon then. "Though a pistol bullet has an effective range of 25 to 30 yards, the bullet is known to travel for longer distances until it strikes something," a senior officer said.

A correct assessment, however, can be arrived at only after the child is operated upon and the bullet lodged is extracted. "The lead inside would give us an idea of the nature of calibre. This would help us zero in on the likely weapons that use such bullets," the senior police officer said.

"We would also be searching the area around possible marks that suggest ricochet of the bullet before it struck the boy," the officer added.

In either case, the police have more or less confirmed that the bullet was a "stray" one with the possibility of an aimed shot almost being negated.

Explaining the investigation angle, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Sudhir Yadav said, "We will be going into the possibility of students' involvement once the exact line of fire is arrived at. If necessary, the buildings around the place would also be searched."

Meanwhile, at the Apollo hospital Angad's condition was reported as stable with doctors still keeping him under observation in the ICU. The bullet is believed to be lodged in his chest, close to the heart. This area has a blood clot around it that the doctors are trying to remove before going in for removal of the foreign object.

School authorities, on their part, have clarified that they were in constant touch with the police to help them in their investigations. They are reported to have beefed up security and asked those on guard to be "alert to anything untoward noticed around."

No student at school, however, has been subjected to any search. "We have on several previous occasions conducted searches of students bags to look for items like magazines, CD's and comics," said Mrs M Titus, the school principal.

However, immediately after the bullet injury no one at school was frisked.

Authorities said this was because nobody was aware of the nature of injury until late evening.