Robbed and brutally stabbed: two students suspected of murdering school principal

Two tenth-grade students, 15-year-old youths, were arrested in India on suspicion of murdering their 35-year-old school principal with knife stabs. The principal's body was found on August 11 at her home in the state of Telangana in the south of the country, suffering from numerous stab wounds.

The breakthrough in the investigation came thanks to just one word that the principal managed to whisper to her aunt in a phone call moments before her death: "Babu," which is a common term of endearment for a student. This clue immediately directed investigators to focus on the school environment.

The police's main assessment is that this was a robbery that went wrong. According to the suspicion, one of the students entered the principal's home to steal money, and when she identified him, he attacked her brutally and fled with loot of about 250,000 rupees (about 11,000 shekels). The suspects were caught after they began spending the money ostentatiously and celebrating with their friends, which aroused suspicion in their surroundings.

The police seized about 151,000 rupees in cash and an iPhone. In a forensic examination, bloodstains of the principal were discovered on some of the banknotes, a solid finding that helped solve the case.

In parallel with checking the circumstances of the robbery, an additional investigative line of personal revenge is being checked. According to the suspicion, one of the boys held a grudge against the principal after she reprimanded him when he was caught earlier with a mobile phone and money on school grounds. Both suspects are expected to be sent to a juvenile detention center.