Admin head found dead in school, family alleges he was poisoned

Gurgaon: A 32-year-old accountant and administrative head of a primary school in Palam Vihar area was found dead inside the school premises on Sunday morning.

Dheeraj Sharma, who had been working in Blossoms Primary School and Day Care Centre for more than 10 years, had gone for a wedding function of a former teacher of the school late on Saturday, returned to the school around 11pm and slept at the waiting room the entire night, according to the sources.

Dheeraj, school sources said, didn't respond when a guard of the school tried to wake him up around 11am on Sunday. He was then rushed to the Columbia Asia Hospital by two guards and a school teacher, but they were asked by the authorities to take Dheeraj to General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

A preliminary investigation conducted by the police revealed that Sharma was spotted going to the washroom by one of the guards around 9.30 on Sunday morning.

Inspector Deepak Kumar, SHO, Bajghera police station, who is investigating the case, said Dheerj's family alleged foul play, claiming that he was poisoned.

Though the family members also alleged that Dheeraj was found abandoned in an Innova car on the way to General Hospital and taken to the hospital by them, police told TOI that he was rushed to the General Hospital by the school staffers.

Dheeraj, according to the family, often used to stay back in the school since his home is at Lokra in Pataudi, which is very far from the school. He used to board a train from the Gurgaon station to Hailey Mandi, and whenever he used to get late, he stayed back at the school.

The school principal, when contacted by TOI, said she would comment on what exactly happened only on Tuesday.

Sunil Sharma, Dheeraj's brother, alleged that Dheeraj had fallen ill after one of the guards gave him tea and halwa after he came back from the washroom. He also said he was sure that his brother had been poisoned.

"Dheeraj was asked to go for the wedding function by the school principal, who had received the invite. The principal or the school owner has not appeared before the police for the interrogation yet," said Sunil.

In his complaint, Sunil said the family was informed by a school teacher, identified as Rishi, that Sharma was "serious" around 12.30pm. "We found his body in an Innova car near Store-5, which is on the way to the hospital. "We took him to General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Doctors told us that he had been dead for a while," Sunil alleged. He also alleged that Dheeraj was under pressure and had told his parents that the management had been "torturing" him

Sunil also said police were trying to botch up the investigation. "The school authorities and police didn't give any satisfactory answers. I suspect police are hand in glove with the school management, and trying to cover up the truth," he said.

Acting on the basis of Sunil's complaint, an FIR was registered at the Bajghera police station under sections 302(murder), 306(abetment to suicide) of the IPC on Monday.

"The post-mortem report has revealed that there was no external injury, and visceral samples have been sent for further chemical examination. We are examining the CCTV footage of the school and nothing cannot be said conclusively as of yet," said SHO Kumar.