Tamil Nadu grade 8 student hacks his classmate inside classroom over pencil dispute

TIRUNELVELI: A classroom altercation rooted in a month-old disagreement over a pencil exchange turned violent on Tuesday when a Class 8 student hacked his classmate with a hatchet inside a private school at Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli.

A social science teacher who attempted to intervene also sustained injuries. According to sources, both the injured student and the teacher were rushed to a nearby private hospital, where they were treated and reported to be out of danger. Both sustained cut injuries.

The student who carried out the attack surrendered at the Palayamkottai police station shortly after the incident. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Juvenile Justice Board (JJ Board) members are currently investigating the matter.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Palayamkottai) Suresh, during a media briefing, said, "The boys were friends who sat together on the same bench in the classroom. A month ago, a difference of opinion arose between them over exchanging a pencil, and they stopped communicating with each other."

He added that the boy who committed the attack had brought a hatchet to school by hiding it inside a book in his bag. "Both the teacher and the injured student were out of danger, and the investigation is ongoing," he said.