Dried blood marks the spot where an ordinary school day had descended into horror.
The classrooms of Saraswati Senior Secondary School in Faridabad’s Sikrona were silent on Tuesday, its gates locked a day after a 21-year-old youth in a mask allegedly walked in, dragged a teacher out of her classroom in broad daylight and stabbed her at least 20 times, leading to her death.
On Wednesday, the school will gather for a havan in the memory of Sandhya Karhaja, a beloved teacher who always wanted to teach.
Born in Dabua in Haryana’s Faridabad, Sandhya married for love seven years ago and moved to nearby Sikrona with her husband, Vikas ‘Vicky’ Karhaja. She taught at several private schools in the area before joining Saraswati Senior Secondary School.
On Monday morning, her classroom was where the 30-year-old taught for the last time.
Amit from neighbouring Kot village entered the school around 9.40 am, dragged Sandhya out of her classroom and stabbed her to death before fleeing on a motorcycle. He was arrested within two hours.
According to Sandhya’s family, Amit was a former student in a school in Kot where Sandhya had previously taught. She allegedly rejected his advances and stopped speaking to him.
Story continues below this ad
“Nine months ago, he began following her after she rejected him and stopped talking to him. She filed a police complaint, but his relatives came with folded hands asking us not to pursue the case. They promised they would handle the boy, so we let it be,” said Vikas, a driver.
However, the matter did not end there.
Three months later, the family again approached Amit’s relatives after he allegedly resumed harassing Sandhya. “This time, I went to his place. His family repeated the same assurances and again, we did not pursue the matter,” Vikas said.
His cousin, Pawan Kumar, added that Amit crossed a line a month ago.
“He threatened to kill Vicky. He said, ‘If she can’t be mine, I won’t let her be yours too’. His elder brother Ravi knew about all this but did nothing. After the murder, the family calmly let him return home. They are part of the conspiracy, but have not been are not named in the FIR. Why?” he asked.
Story continues below this ad
According to Vikas, his family would urge police to investigate Amit’s relatives when their statements are formally recorded.
He also questioned how secure the school was. “They let him enter in a mask just because he said that he was her husband,” he said.
Across the narrow lane from the family’s home, overlooking paddy fields, grief has settled heavily.
Sandhya’s five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter move from one elder to another, asking for their mother.
Story continues below this ad
“She never told me about the recent threats. Had she done so, I would have brought her home. Now this house has become a shamshan (crematorium),” said Sandhya’s mother Sudha Devi, struggling to hold back tears. “He struck my daughter more times than a butcher strikes.”
Sandhya, she said, had always dreamt of becoming a teacher. She was also stubborn when it came to getting what she wanted. “We did not pressure her to get married. She chose Vikas on her own and they got married in court,” she added.
Sandhya’s elder sister, who is set to get married, said she had been looking forward to celebrating with her. “I hadn’t spoken to her for the last two or three weeks because I was busy preparing for my wedding. The way he killed her, people don’t even treat animals like that.”
“For us, justice means either him getting a death penalty or being killed in an encounter,” she added.
Story continues below this ad
At the school, the attack has left teachers and students shaken.
School owner and Principal Dr Tejpal Sharma (59) said Sandhya had been teaching in the school for a little over a year. “She was loved by all the children. She even taught one of my children… I have sent them to a relative’s because they are disturbed,” he said, admitting that security needs to be strengthened at the school.
He recalled initially mistaking Sandhya’s screams for a child receiving an electric shock because of the rain. “…By the time I reached the spot, she was on the floor… The accused shouted at me to go back, tried to hit me and threatened to kill me. I went back to get a stick, but by the time I returned, he had fled. I informed the nearby police post and took Sandhya to the hospital.”
Sharma said the school would bear the education expenses of Sandhya’s two children.
Story continues below this ad
The offer has done little to ease the family’s anger.
“We are not that poor, in fact the couple was building a two-storey home for themselves. Instead, the school should be sealed for letting the accused in so easily, just because he posed as Vicky. Why will we send the children there now? Even if they give us Rs 20 lakh, we will not accept it,” Sandhya’s aunt said.
She added that neither police officers nor school representatives had visited the family after the incident.
When contacted, a police spokesperson said that while Amit has been remanded to three-day police custody on Tuesday, further investigation is on.
