DNA tests of 277 suspects in schoolgirl death sent back for re-test

In 2019, she was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel in Mainpuri

The DNA test results of all 277 suspects in the case of alleged murder of a class 11 student of a Centre-run school in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri have been sent back for re-examination as the Allahabad High Court is unsatisfied with the progress in the investigation.

In 2019, she was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel. Her family had alleged that she was sexually assaulted before being murdered as she knew “secret things” about the school and that the police were trying to protect the accused in the case—the principal, hostel warden and another person. The police had prima facie called it a case of death by suicide. In September, a fresh probe was launched after the original inquiry conducted by a special investigation team was found to have “serious lapses,” leading to the suspension of three senior police officers and pending action against another.

On November 15, Gopal Swaroop Chaturvedi, senior advocate, for the State, submitted in the High Court that the DNA test reports of the 277 suspects had been received from the CFSL laboratory, Hyderabad. However, they had been referred back for re-testing, the government informed a Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Piyush Agarwal.