Regrets, a rally & curses the morning after


A.S.R.P. MUKESH & RAJ KUMAR

A distressed guard

Ranchi, April 28: Till 4.55pm yesterday, veteran guard Mahavir had never heard such an uncanny scream.

It was short and died in a gurgle. It was the last sound that 19-year-old Khusboo made, as the khukuri of “good friend” Bijendra Prasad (23) severed her head from her body just outside the examination hall (room No. 41) at St Xavier’s College. The murder took less than 10 seconds and the dark youth, clad in blue trousers and a red T-shirt, had already dropped the khukuri on the floor and started to sprint towards the playground.

Mahavir, just 100ft away, was the first to shout and run after the youth. It was his timely alert that made the hostel students on the playground catch and overpower Bijendra.

A deserted corridor

But this does not comfort the man, now in his mid-50s. “The killer was arrested on campus, but I wish I could have saved the girl’s life. This feeling will stay with me throughout my life,” he said.

Mahavir, till yesterday, loved the campus, abuzz with youthful energy and students’ conversation. “Now it is different. The incident will not fade out of my memory,” the elderly man said softly.

St Xavier’s College held classes today till 11am and the Jharkhand Academic Council’s intermediate examination was scheduled for the second half. The same exam that Khusboo would have taken, had she been alive.

Examination controller A.K. Sinha said the girl’s grandmother might have had an inkling.

“Later in the evening, we came to know the boy was scolded by the girl’s grandmother outside campus. She should have at least alerted us about the harassment. We could have restrained the girl in the exam room or informed the police,” he said.

Though principal Nicholas Tete claimed everything was “normal on premises today”, an eerie silence belied his words. “We did as much as was possible yesterday. We didn’t let the murderer go and he is behind bars now. What else can we do?” Tete asked.

An examinee who was present at ground zero

Not many students came forward to speak, the stately corridors were empty and the playground, deserted. But some did hit the streets for a peace rally to under the banner Save India Trust (floated by Xaverians) at Albert Ekka Chowk in the morning to defend their college’s reputation.

“Please don’t demean our college. No one likes such incident on campus. It’s time to stand united,” second-year BCom student Suraj Sharma said. Recalling the incident, Sharma said: “Everyone went speechless, the girls (classmates) started weeping uncontrollably. For the moment, we thought we would never return to the campus. But we realised this is not the solution. So, we are out to spread the message of peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, this morning, the police produced Bijendra before the court of chief judicial magistrate Sita Ram Prasad, who forwarded him to a 14-day judicial custody at Birsa Munda Central Jail, where he was showered with curses from those present.

“The boy should be shot dead,” thundered Archana Sabu, a woman advocate.

Pictures by Hardeep Singh


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